Vijay Rupani has been made a "scapegoat" and he became the victim of the BJP's "internal tussle," Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil said on Saturday.
Rupani resigned as Gujarat Chief Minister on Saturday more than a year ahead of assembly polls in the state.
Gohil said the BJP government in the state had failed to effectively deal with COVID-19 and Congress gave data from few cities that mismatched the official data.
"There was a shortage of remdesivir injections and medical oxygen in the state. The youth in the state are struggling with unemployed. All sections of society are dissatisfied with the BJP government. To hide the failures, Vijay Rupani has been made the scapegoat," he said.
Gohil said if the central government is doing a good job why is BJP changing the chief ministers before the elections.
He said the people of Gujarat, who elected the BJP government with high hopes, "will not forgive the party and vote them out in the upcoming assembly elections".
Gujarat Congress leader Paresh Dhanani also claimed Rupani's resignation was an "attempt to hide the failures of the BJP government in the state."
"We are sad that a simple man like Vijay Rupani was made a scapegoat to hide the failures of the BJP government. He became a victim of the party's internal politics. There is anger among the people of Gujarat for the mismanagement by the government during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. But for that Central government was responsible. There is a BJP government in Gujarat for over 25 years," he said.
He alleged that the BJP government at the Centre did not ramp up health infrastructure for COVID-19 and people suffered during the second wave of the pandemic.
Rupani met state Governor Acharya Devvrat on Saturday and submitted his resignation as Chief Minister. (ANI)