The Hindu : Amarsinh apologises for remarks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 03, 2004

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National

Amarsinh apologises for remarks

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD, FEB. 2. In response to the threat by the deposed Gujarat Congress president, Shankarsinh Waghela, to disrupt his public appearances, the Congress Legislature Party leader, Amarsinh Chaudhary, today tendered an apology withdrawing his "remarks" against Mr. Waghela's "Shakti Dal."

Mr. Chaudhary's brief apology was read out by the new Pradesh Congress Committee president, Bhairondan Gadhvi, at a media conference by the AICC in-charge for Gujarat affairs, Prithviraj Chauhan, here on a day's visit for preliminary preparations for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

In his statement, Mr. Chaudhary said he had no intention of "hurting" anyone while making certain remarks about the Shakti Dal. He said he was withdrawing his remarks if these had hurt some party leaders and Dal volunteers. He said that since the Dal was being converted into a non-governmental organisaton at the behest of the party president, Sonia Gandhi, he had no complaints against its formation. On Sunday, Mr. Waghela and the Dal convener, Jagdish Thakore, had demanded an apology from Mr. Chaudhary for describing the Dal volunteers as "hired goons" who could be "utilised" by any political party whenever needed.

Mr. Chaudhary's apology came after one of his supporters, Iswarsinh Chavda, was heckled by a group of Dal volunteers at the circuit house annexe, where he had come to call on Mr. Chauhan who was meeting a cross-section of party leaders on the preparations for the elections. Later, Mr. Chauhan told mediapersons that Mr. Waghela's services would be utilised by the party "suitably" hinting that he could be accommodated in the AICC set-up in Delhi. He denied that there was any demand for removing Mr. Chaudhary as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

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