E-Paper
‘No shame...read history’: Ashok Gehlot slams BJP MP over ‘rubber stamp’ remark on Kharge
BJP leader Rajyavardhan Rathore on Wednesday called newly elected Congress president a “rubber stamp” and also called the internal elections of the grand old party “fraud and drama”.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday lashed out at BJP MP Rajyavardhan Rathore over his “rubber stamp” remark on newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and said that saffron unit leaders should “read history”.
Speaking with reporters, Gehlot said that BJP leaders have “no shame”. “New boys have come... they do not understand that they should read history and then learn to speak so that their image is not spoilt,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
The chief minister further stated that former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi herself went to Kharge's house after his victory. “They have no knowledge…what is a rubber stamp?” Gehlot asked.
Also Read | ‘How times have changed’: Rajasthan MLA's swipe as Gehlot loyalists meet Kharge
Rathore said on Wednesday that Kharge - the first non-Gandhi chief of the grand old party in over 24 years - is a “rubber stamp”, even as he claimed the Congress presidential elections were “fraud and drama”. He added that Congress can never come out of its image of revolving around one family (the Gandhis).
The BJP MP from Jaipur Rural had also taken a swipe at Gehlot for the law and order of Rajasthan.
Long known as a loyalist of the Gandhi family, Gehlot had advocated Kharge's win in the Congress presidential polls against Shashi Tharoor. The Rajasthan chief minister was himself in the running but had backed out after massive tension in his state between MLAs supporting him and those behind former deputy CM Sachin Pilot. There were speculations that Pilot, whose relationship with Gehlot strained after he revolted against his regime two years before, would take over from the CM if he contests the polls. Gehlot loyalists vehemently opposed the possibility, and later the CM met Sonia at her 10 Janpath residence in Delhi and opted out of the race.
Kharge won by bagging more than 7,000 votes, while his opponent Tharoor managed to get 1,000 votes. The election was held on October 17, and the results of it were declared on October 19. Tharoor's team wrote to Congress central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry alleging severe irregularities in the counting of the votes in Uttar Pradesh. However, Tharoor and his team clarified that Kharge was unaware of these irregularities.
Tharoor, however, put to rest any discussions on internal rift as he met Kharge soon after the results were announced on Wednesday, and vowed to offer him “full cooperation” to strengthen their party.
Mistry, meanwhile, fired back at Tharoor on Thursday for claiming that the central election authority conspired against him despite his requests being accommodated.
