Banners hailing Sanjay Joshi surface in Kutch village

RAJKOT: The war over Sanjay Joshi's posters continues to raise head in the state even after the former BJP leader appealed to his supporters not to engage in such activity. On Wednesday evening, banners of Joshi appeared in Bhimasar village of Anjar taluka in Kutch district ahead of chief minister Narendra Modi's visit to the village to inaugurate a new plant of Indian Steel Corporation.
The banners, with Joshi's photo, read: 'Kaho Dilse, Sanjay Joshi Firse'. Ever since Joshi resigned from the BJP, the poster war between the supporters of Modi and his detractor Joshi has intensified with pamphlets and posters targeting the chief minister having appeared in different parts of the country, mainly in Gujarat.
As soon as the banners appeared in Bhimasar, BJP Youth Wing members rushed to the spot and removed them. But who put up the banners remained a mystery. Anjar is a stronghold of BJP leader and minister Vasan Ahir.
According to sources, IB officials, police and BJP party workers remained alert after the incident. Modi was to visit Rapar, Nakhtrana, Bhimasar and Mandvi.
During his day-long visit to the border district, Modi attended four programmes on Kutchi New Year, which is being celebrated on 'Ashadhi Bij'.
Earlier this month, during the two-day state BJP executive meet in Rajkot, pamphlets were circulated by people wearing Joshi's mask near Swaminarayan Temple on Kalawad Road. Some of them were detained by the police. The pamphlets, which did not name Modi, said: "I am Sanjay Joshi, I am RSS volunteer, I do not sell grazing land to industrialists, I do not do massacre for political power, I do not cheat party's line of thinking for becoming prime minister, I do not treat party workers as labourers."
Also, in Rajkot, Kutch Ladayak Manch, a non-political group led by Kutchi businessman Ramesh Joshi, published advertisements in some language newspapers against the alleged injustice meted out to Joshi by Modi.