AHMEDABAD, May 1: Forced by colleagues, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Prabodh Raval has virtually made up his mind to do a Sitaram Kesri to Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela ``if he failed to mend his ways''.

Raval gave ample indication to the media that the party's political honeymoon with the Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) was over and that the Congress support to the State Government led by Vaghela could no longer be taken for granted. ``Henceforth it (the unconditional support) would depend on Vaghela and his party's behaviour with the Congress'', Raval said.

Raval's aggressive tone during a crowded press conference at the end of a day-long meeting of the state party leaders here on Wednesday also gave credence to the fact that there is a lot of discontent among the party rank and file against the manner in which the RJP is trying to uproot the Congress in the state's interiors. If what transpired at the meeting and later told to reporters is to be taken at face value, then the future does not bode well for the Vaghela Government and it will be full of warnings and threats to the precariously perched Mahagujarat Janata Party (MJP) Government in the state over big and small issues.

This is for the first time in the past six months that the party has officially come out in the open against the ``wrong'' style of functioning of the Vaghela Government. The meeting was attended by CLP leader Amarsinh Chaudhary, chief whip Shaktisinh Goel, Chhabildas Mehta, Narhari Amin, Jayram Patel, Narsinh Makwana and Zinabhai Darji, Arvind Sanghvi, Manubhai Kotadia and Brahmakumar Bhatt among several others. All the attendants expressed strong dislike over the Vaghela Government's style of functioning. Raval said the participants were not happy over the state ministers remaining absent from their offices during week days which caused severe hardship to the people going to the state capital for official work and resulted in avoidable wastage of time and money. Raval said it was in no case proper of the Chief Minister to move about in the state to attend felicitation functions with his cabinet colleagues as the government work was suffering.

He criticised the Vaghela Government for making mindless anouncements regarding launch of highly impractical and populist schemes as the same were being made without giving due thought to serious financial implications as a result of their implementation. He alleged that not only the people's grievance remained unattended, but also public interest works suggested by local MLAs too were ignored by RJP ministers.

Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela has reiterated that his government will continue and there was no immenent threat to it from any corner. Replying to his grand felicitation for his victory in the Radhanpur by-election, Vaghela said the four and half crore people of Gujarat were with him and he did not care for anyone. The rally was attended by thousands of people in scorching sun from all parts of the region.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.