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PM takes on Ashok Gehlot, says he has ‘accepteddefeat’ before polls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has accepted defeat in the upcoming assembly elections by asking him not to halt the welfare schemes introduced by the state government. Modi assured that the BJP will not discontinue but only improve the public schemes if voted to power. Gehlot claimed that the initiatives are "safe" under the Congress government.
Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has “accepted defeat” in the upcoming assembly elections by asking him not to halt the welfare schemes introduced by the state government.
Modi assured that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not discontinue but only improve the public schemes if the party is voted to power in the state, even as Gehlot claimed that the people are aware that the initiatives are “safe” under the Congress government.
Last week, Gehlot had demanded that Modi give a guarantee that the Congress government’s schemes will not be scrapped if the BJP comes to power in the state. “I would like to request Prime Minister Modi ji that whenever you come next time, these days you are giving guarantee, so you give a guarantee that the schemes that we have started will not be stopped if (BJP) government is formed,” he said on September 27.
Taking on the chief minister over his remarks, Modi said: “Gehlot knows that the countdown of the Congress government has started. He, in a way, has congratulated the BJP by publicly requesting that welfare schemes should not be stopped. I assure you that the BJP will not stop any scheme of public interest but will try to improve it. This is Modi’s guarantee.”
The Prime Minister was addressing a rally in Chittorgarh after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for several infrastructure, education and tourism projects worth ₹7,000 when he attacked the Gehlot government. He also offered prayers at Sanwaliya temple.
Elections for the 200-member assembly are due to be held this year.
Modi continued: “After five years of looting the public, the Congress knows it’s time is over and it has accepted its defeat in Rajasthan.”
Both Gehlot and his party were quick to slam the Prime Minister for his remarks. “Once bitten and twice shy. The people of Rajasthan realise that the popular schemes for their interests and rights are safe only under our Congress government. Congress means trust,” the chief minister wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Congress leader Pawan Khera said the Prime Minister has accepted that the Rajasthan government has done good work. “Our chief minister threw a trap and the prime minister fell for it by saying that the Gehlot government’s schemes will be continued. When our schemes are good, who will vote for you (BJP),” he told a press conference in Jaipur.
Besides speaking about Gehlot’s remarks, the Prime Minister raked up the brutal murder of a Hindu tailor by two people in June last year, and asked whether the people of the state had voted for the Congress for this.
“The people came on the pretext of getting clothes stitched, slit the throat of the tailor without any fear and made a video and made it viral. The Congress gets worried about votes in that too,” he said.
The tailor – Kanhaiya Lal – was hacked to death for allegedly supporting former BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s remarks on Prophet Mohammed. The two accused captured the killing on their phones and issued a threat to Modi as they proudly posed with the knives used in the murder in a hate crime that shocked the country. They were arrested hours after the crime that day.
Modi alleged that Gehlot was busy trying to save his chair while half the Congress was trying to dislodge him, in an apparent reference to an alleged power tussle between the chief minister and his former deputy, Sachin Pilot, since 2018.
“The Congress came to power in the state by lying to people but could not run the government. Chief minister Gehlot was busy saving his chair while half of his own party was busy removing him for more than four years,” he said.
He assured that the BJP will bring prosperity, employment and development to the state, besides ensuring the safety of women, if it is voted to power. “Rajasthan has given a call. Will save Rajasthan, will bring BJP government,” he said.
He also said that the paper leak “mafia” in Rajasthan will be held accountable and given the harshest punishment. “Action will definitely be taken against those who have committed corruption here and looted the money of the poor. This is also Modi’s guarantee,” he said.
The Prime Minister gave a clear indication that no leader will be projected as the chief ministerial candidate for the elections. “The only face of the BJP in Rajasthan is the symbol of ‘lotus’. Our hope and candidate is the lotus,” he said.
The Congress hit back at Modi over the corruption remark.
“Senior BJP legislator Kailash Meghwal has levelled corruption charges against a cabinet minister in the Modi government. The BJP should answer that first,” Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said.
(With inputs from agencies)
