Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Amit Shah on Monday came down heavily on the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for the injustice to the leaders from Gujarat during Congress rules since Independence. Shah was addressing a rally before flagging off the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra - a 15-day campaign across 149 assembly constituencies by the ruling party - at Porbandar.

In his speech, Shah stated that all through its rule since Independence, the Congress party has meted out injustice to the leaders from Gujarat be it Sardar Patel, Morarji Desai or Narendra Modi. "Congress is daydreaming to come to power in Gujarat. If you ask for votes after ignoring Gujarat for three generations, you are not going to get it," Shah stated in his speech.

The BJP launched Gujarat Gaurav Yatra as a response to the Congress' 'Navsarjan Yatra', which garnered impressive support from the rural population in Saurashtra during Rahul Gandhi's three-day stay in the region.

Commenting on the BJP's Yatra, Manish Doshi, Congress Spokesperson said, "These people (BJP) is frightened by the rise of Congress support. We and the people of Gujarat ask BJP about what kind of Gaurav (pride) do they speak of? Their Yatra is a one-way communication to the voters, while Rahul Gandhi's Yatra is a two-way communication with the people on ground."

BJP had announced its Gujarat Gaurav Yatra, comprising of two raths (chariots), of which the first will kicked-off from Karamsad - birthplace of Sardar Patel in Anand on October 1, and cover 1361 kilometres and 76 assembly constituencies in Central and North Gujarat regions. The second started its journey on October 2 and will travel a distance of 2395 kms covering 73 assembly seats in Saurashtra and South Gujarat. The Yatra will conclude on October 15th.

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