Patel’s constant criticism

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s political aide Ahmed Patel (pictured) took a dig at Prime Minister and fellow Gujarati Narendra Modi saying that there had been a deliberate attempt to undermine the state Assembly and the Opposition’s voice in the last 15 years, including the period when Modi was state chief minister. Patel, who keeps a close watch on developments in Gujarat, made the remark in the wake of the recent clashes between lawmakers of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress in the state Assembly. In the past, the Congress had accused Modi of running the House like his fiefdom, showing scant respect for dissent. Since Modi became PM in May 2014, the Congress has accused him of ignoring norms of parliamentary democracy as well.