Full-page advertisements mocking Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Gujarat greeted the Congress leader on the final day of his three-day tour to the state.

But the surprising thing was that the advertisements – He, Dilhithi uteri aavela darbario magarna aansuo sarvanu bandh karo (Hey, you courtiers descending from Delhi, stop shedding crocodile tears) in the four leading Gujarati dailies in circulation in Surat, were placed by jobless diamond workers.

Incidentally, the jobless diamond workers do not have an association of their own; and the ones that do exist are of the diamond unit owners.

The words in the ghost advertisement are also not attributed to any association or committee of diamond workers; they only state ‘jobless diamond workers’, but have an uncanny resemblance to what Chief Minister Narendra Modi had said on February 12 when Rahul Gandhi began his three-day tour.

The Gujarat press information department release on Thursday quoted the CM as saying: “They rush to Gujarat to shed crocodile tears… the Union government should provide rough diamonds to diamond industries through Hindustan Diamonds, so that the employment of the diamond workers are sustained.”

Rahul, who met the jobless diamond workers at the Sardar Smruti Hall in Varachha, where the diamond polishing units are concentrated, later said: “The ads reflect poor politics. Instead of spending on those ads, the money could have been used for the welfare of the diamond workers.” Rahul promised the workers to take up their cause with the Centre.

Gujarat Congress president Siddharth Patel said: “We know who placed these ads. They have been placed by the diamond unit owners who are close to the BJP and are lobbying for the relief package in a bid to reduce their losses. The Centre has already abolished all taxes on the industry.”

Members of the Surat Diamond Association and Surat Diamond Workers Association were not present at the meeting in Varachha.

But Surat Diamond Association president C P Vanani, who is known to have BJP antecedents, later said: “We have spoken to Congress leader Kadir Pirzada and told him that we wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi.”

He further said: “We don't know who published the ads. I have read the advertisement and one thing I want to say is that whatever is written in it is true.”