Opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday claimed that Vijay Rupani, who resigned as Gujarat chief minister earlier in the day, paid the price for the BJP's failures.
The saffron party can not cover up the failure of its "remote-controlled" government by simply changing the chief minister, the Congress said.
"The party has made Vijay Rupani resign to hide the misrule and criminal negligence of the state government which caused three lakh deaths during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic," state Congress chief Amit Chavda said.
Farmers are committing suicide in the state and the youth are unable to find jobs despite expensive education, he alleged.
Senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia said the BJP had no option other than changing the leadership in view of the deteriorating law and order situation. The "remote control" of the government remains in Delhi and in the hands of state BJP chief C R Paatil, he said, adding that both the "remote control operators" have been a failure.
Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Paresh Dhanani said the Rupani government was being run through remote control, but for inflation, unemployment, corruption and Covid-19 pandemic, "only (Prime Minister) Narendra bhai (Modi) and (Union home minister) Amit Shah are directly responsible.
"The resignation of CM Rupani has made it clear that the BJP has been unsuccessful in running the government," said another Congress leader Hardik Patel.
"The real change will come after the state Assembly elections next year when the public will throw the BJP out of power," he said.
Gujarat AAP leader Gopal Italia said Rupani's exit will not help the BJP.
"Is BJP trying to convey that people will forget the pain they have been suffering due to the failure of the government after the chief minister is changed? The resignation is the reflection of the failure of the BJP's misrule of the last 27 years....Vijay bhai has been made a scapegoat," he said.
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