'Gujarat model doesn't have faith in Indian Constitution'

Kochi: Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani on Saturday slammed the Left government in Kerala for sending a delegation of senior officers to study a system aiding good governance introduced by BJP-ruled Gujarat.

Mevani, who is in Thrikkakara constituency to campaign for Congress candidate Uma Thomas, said there was some sort of pact between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the BJP in the state.

Referring to the 'Gujarat model' of development, the independent MLA from Gujarat said, "It is anti-minority, anti-Dalit. The Gujarat model has no agenda of secularism and social justice. The Gujarat model doesn't have faith in the Indian Constitution."

"We are far behind Kerala when it comes to education and public health. Gujarat model has been the model of loot and plunder. It's the model of corporate loot. Our land and resources have been handed over to corporate giants. That's what the Gujarat model is," Mevani alleged.

He criticised the visit of Kerala Chief Secretary VP Joy and his staffer to Gujarat in April this year to attend a presentation on the Gujarat Chief Minister's Dashboard system for project implementation in the western state. He noted that there are over a dozen BJP chief ministers but none of them have visited Gujarat or sent a team of top bureaucrats to study so called Gujarat model.

"No BJP chief minister has gone to Gujarat to appreciate or celebrate the Gujarat model the way the LDF is trying. This is a very dangerous sign."

Mevani campaigned for Uma Thomas at Thrikkakara constituency and attended a public meeting seeking votes for the Congress candidate.

Kerala's CPI(M)-led LDF government had in April sent a two-member high-level official team to Gujarat to study a system aiding good governance introduced by the BJP-ruled state, sparking a row in the southern state.