‘If Indira Gandhi could lose…’: Ashok Gehlot on BJP’s 4-1 score in state elections
Rajasthan chief minister chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the BJP was diverting attention of people by talking about Hindutva and nationalism.
JAIPUR: Accusing Bharatiya Janata Party MPs from Rajasthan of not raising the state’s problems at the Centre, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said BJP leaders should not be an illusion on winning that they will continue winning elections after its recent success of winning elections in four of the five states.

“They (BJP) should not be under any illusion that if they win elections in four out of five states, they have got everything. In a democracy, one never knows when people change their minds… I have seen this from my experience,” Gehlot said. “When former prime minister Indira Gandhi, whose government at Centre conducted nuclear explosions in 1974, liberated Bangladesh in 1971, can lose the election, then what are they?”
People will realise that the BJP was diverting their attention by focussing on Hindutva and nationalism, Gehlot said. “
“They are not governing, and are only talking about Hindutva and nationalism to get votes. Are we not nationalists, are our countrymen not nationalists? They will be under shock, after being exposed,” Gehlot said at a media briefing, claiming that people in Rajasthan already repent their choice in the 2019 elections.
He said the public sent 25 MPs to Lok Sabha from the state but none of them were raising issues of Rajasthan be it related to power or coal. “The people regret their choice and will teach them a lesson in the next elections,” he said.
The chief minister also spoke about the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), a drinking water project covering 13 districts, and added that he had asked opposition leaders from the BJP to put pressure on the central government to declare it a national project. Let us all collectively meet the prime minister.
BJP MLA and spokesperson Ram Lal Sharma said the public has been the BJP’s top priority, and all schemes and programs are made drawn up with their interest in mind. Besides Hindutva and nationalism, the BJP also works for public welfare.
He explained the rise in fuel prices in recent days to the international market and stressed that the central government reduced taxes and if necessary, will do again.
ABOUT THE AUTHORSachin SainiSachin Saini is Special Correspondent for Rajasthan. He covers politics, tourism, forest, home, panchayati raj and rural development, and development journalism.

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