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‘Child with little knowledge of history’: Pradhan on RLD chief's 'not a coin' remark
RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary recently put aside Union home minister Amit Shah's invitation to the BJP, saying he is not a “coin that will flip”, and added the call should have been for the 700 farmer families that the saffron party “destroyed”.
Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dharmendra Pradhan has hit back at Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary after his “coin” remark, saying that he is a “child with little knowledge of history.”
On Wednesday (January 26), Union home minister Amit Shah reached out to the Jat community in western Uttar Pradesh ahead of the commencement of the first phase of the assembly elections in the state this month. During his address, he took a dig at the alliance between Samajwadi Party (SP) and the RLD, saying that Chaudhary chose the wrong path and that BJP's doors are always open for him. However, the RLD chief slammed the minister saying he isn't a “coin that will flip", and added the invitation should have been for the “700 farmer families” that the saffron camp has “destroyed.”
Notably, the Jat population is prominent in western Uttar Pradesh - the base of RLD - and the BJP is trying to woo them, especially in the aftermath of the passing and subsequent repealing of the farm laws.
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Pradhan, who is also BJP's Uttar Pradesh poll in-charge, referred to Chaudhary's father late Ajit Singh changing sides several times, in his comeback reply to the RLD chief.
“He is a child, [and] came to [the] arena just now. His father changed parties many times…Didn't know he (Chaudhary) has weak knowledge of history. Children should be forgiven,” Pradhan was quoted as saying by ANI.
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The Union minister further stated that the people of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh know very well how the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government has ruled the state in the last five years.
Talking about the discontent among the Jat community, Pradhan said that the BJP leaders are visiting “every community” and party's national president JP Nadda and Adityanath are “campaigning door-to-door” too.
“The BJP…believes in ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas’. We have served every community and we believe that we will get good results,” Pradhan told PTI.
The SP and RLD have teamed up for the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, and Akhilesh has termed their partnership as “laal topi and laal potli.” Shah, however, in a recent meeting in Muzaffarnagar said that Chaudhary will be sidetracked following the completion of the assembly elections in the state.
