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After Gehlot's attack on BJP-RSS over riots, MP questions CM's ‘mental balance’
BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Ram Kumar Verma said that Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who also holds the home department of the state, “should fix the responsibility to improve the law and order situation but unfortunately he is busy accusing the Centre”.
Following Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot's recent jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (BJP-RSS) over riots in the state, saffron camp's Rajya Sabha MP Ram Kumar Verma on Sunday slammed the Congress leader, saying he has “lost his mental balance”. Gehlot on Thursday accused the BJP-RSS of “engineering riots” in Rajasthan to divert attention from unemployment and inflation. Responding to this, Verma said, “The way the chief minister speaks, it looks like he has lost his mental balance.”
Speaking to news agency ANI, the BJP MP further said that is is now “clear” that those who are accusing the BJP-RSS for the riots are “themselves responsible for the prevailing situation in the state”.
Verma said that since Gehlot took charge as the head of Rajasthan, the law and order scenario in the state has completely collapsed.
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“The chief minister, who also holds the home department, should fix the responsibility to improve the law and order situation but unfortunately he is busy accusing the Centre,” Verma was quoted as saying.
Alleging that the Congress government in Rajasthan led by Gehlot is a “complete failure”, the BJP MP demanded the chief minister's resignation from the post.
Rajasthan has been plagued with back-to-back clashes that broke out first in Karauli and Ramgarh on April 2, and then hours before Eid on May 2. In the first incident, stones were pelted at a bike rally, taken out by Hindus, when they were crossing a Muslim-dominated region. Several vehicles and shops were set on fire, with at least 35 people reportedly sustaining injuries.
A similar communal tension occurred in Jodhpur's Jalori area, in which several people, including four police officers were injured after stone pelting between two groups. A curfew was imposed in areas under 10 police stations in Jodhpur (east), and mobile internet connection was also blocked.
On Thursday, Gehlot alleged that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar had set an agenda and have been planning to trigger riots in Ramgarh, Karauli and Jodhpur. “We took timely action and due to that, only small incidents occurred. However, we have arrested the culprits and we will not spare anyone. We will not allow violence in the state,” he added.
The chief minister also dared Union home minister Amit Shah to form a committee headed by a supreme court of high court judge to probe the recent clashes not just in Rajasthan but in other states of the country as well “to get into the root cause”.
