Vaghela wants Gehlot to 'withdraw his words'

Former Gujarat chief minister Shankar Singh Vaghela on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Ashok Gehlot over the Congress in-charge for election-bound Gujarat calling the former's decision to quit the party a "blunder," and said he wants him to withdraw his words.

Gehlot had blamed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for pressurising Vaghela into quitting the Congress. He said there were reports that the ED and the CBI had searched his premises and under that pressure, he tried to damage the Congress.

Vaghela, however, said, "I want Ashok Gehlot to withdraw his words in public domain."

Vaghela announced his exit from the Congress last week but left everyone guessing on his next political move.

The leader thanked his former colleagues from the RSS to Jan Sangh and Congress, and specially mentioned the names of Ahmed Patel and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

While he resigned from the position of Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Vaghela said he would resign as MLA after the Rajya Sabha polls.