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In Rajasthan, Shah targets Congress over Gehlot-Pilot tussle
Addressing the BJP’s booth-level workers in Bharatpur, Shah accused the Congress of always giving Gehlot ‘precedence’ over Pilot.
Jaipur: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday targeted the Congress over the infighting between Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, and exuded confidence about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the state elections due this later.
The attack comes days after Pilot ignored Congress’s warnings and sat on a day-long fast, demanding action from the Gehlot government against alleged corruption by the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP regime. The Congress termed the protest an “anti-party activity”.
Addressing the BJP’s booth-level workers in Bharatpur, Shah accused the Congress of always giving Gehlot precedence over Pilot. “Pilot can stage dharnas but his number will never come… his contribution on the ground may be a bit more than Gehlot, but Gehlot’s contribution to the Congress treasury is more,” he said, accusing the incumbent CM of “looting the public” and alleging that the money then went to the party.
But, Shah said, the fight between Pilot and Gehlot for the CM’s chair will be in vain as “the BJP will form the next government in Rajasthan”. “Why are you fighting for something that doesn’t exist?” he asked.
“Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government is one of the most corrupt governments in the history of Rajasthan. People are fed up,” he added.
Hitting back at Shah over the remark against Gehlot and Pilot, Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said Shah should not meddle in internal matters of the Congress. “Instead of commenting on our party, he should speak on the internal factionalism in the BJP,” he said.
“Compared to 2018 when the BJP was in power, crime in Rajasthan has reduced by 9%,” he added.
Shah attacked the state government over what he said were the “3Ds” — danga (riots), durvyavhar (misbehaviour with women) and Dalit atyachar (crimes against Dalits). Referring to the acquittal of the accused in the 2008 Jaipur bomb blast case, the Union minister said: “You (the Gehlot-led government) should be ashamed that you are doing vote bank politics over the victims of the bomb blasts. But people are watching and understanding all this. They have made up their mind and your time has come,” he said.
The Union minister also highlighted efforts of BJP’s booth workers and the welfare schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he urged the people to “vote out the government in elections”, and help the BJP win two-thirds majority in the assembly and sweep all 25 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 for the third time.
“The Congress government lost the trust of the people the day it banned shobha yatras on Ram Navami and put a ban on hoisting of saffron flags to mark the Hindu New Year,” he said.
Chaturvedi dismissed Shah’s allegation of a ban on rallies or saffron flags in the state, saying: “The government has only banned hoisting of flags of any religious denomination in public places without permission.”
