Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday alleged that the Congress government in Rajasthan was taking a soft stand against terrorists due to its appeasement politics and took a dig over infighting in the party, saying the “chief minister does not have faith in his MLAs” and they also don’t trust him.
Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Abu Road, he alleged an “ugly form of political battle” has been on for the last five years in the state and instead of working in people’s interest, Congress leaders were busy in “the game of looting and saving the chair”.
Referring to the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts that claimed 71 lives and left 185 others injured, the prime minister alleged the Congress government did not fight the case strongly, leading to the acquittal of all the accused.
“The Congress government of Rajasthan did what the Congress is notorious for. The Congress has always taken a soft stand on terrorists for appeasement. It does not leave any chance to stand with terrorist ideology,” he alleged.
Modi claimed that during the coronavirus pandemic, the Congress “wanted more people to die so that they could get a chance to grab my neck”.
However, the prime minister said he would not kowtow to the threats and conspiracies of these people.
“If Modi bows down, then he bows down before 140 crore countrymen,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi said Rajasthan is also facing the consequences of Congress’s politics of selfishness.
“You are witnessing an ugly form of political battle in Rajasthan for the last five years. Instead of the interest of the public, the game of looting and saving the chair is going on here,” he said.
“What kind of government is this where the chief minister does not have faith in his own MLAs and they also do not have faith in their chief minister. Everyone is competing to humiliate others,” he said at the rally in Sirohi district, around 400 km from the state capital Jaipur.
Modi’s remarks came as a festering power tussle between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot again spilled into the open, with both accusing each other of colluding with BJP leaders.
On Sunday, Gehlot said he survived the 2020 revolt by some Congress MLAs as BJP leaders Vasundhara Raje and Kailash Meghwal refused to support a conspiracy to topple his government. Two days later, Pilot said Gehlot’s remarks made it clear why his government was not probing allegations of corruption against the previous Raje government.
At the rally on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi said the chief minister’s chair was in trouble for five years and there was no one to care about Rajasthan’s development. He also alleged that there was a complete breakdown of law and order under the Congress rule and crimes against women had increased.
He said the Congress government in Rajasthan is afraid to take action against criminals because of vote bank politics and for the appeasement of some people. He alleged that because of this thinking, the Congress government presented a weak prosecution in the Jaipur bomb blast case and accused were acquitted.
“No matter how much the Congress tries to cover it up, its truth has come before the country,” he said, adding that Dalit, backward and tribal communities have suffered to its policies.
He said that the tribal people had trusted the Congress for years, but got no relief.
He said after independence, several parties were formed in the name of social justice, but they gave casteism, dynasty and a corrupt ecosystem to the country.
“When these parties come to power, they come in the name of the vote bank they have created in the name of a community, but they (the parties) do not do any good to them. They only instigate feelings. They only get involved in serving the interests of their own families,” he said, in an apparent reference to Muslims.
“Whoever became the vote bank of these political parties, their development stopped. Do not make the mistake of becoming a vote bank, be a dutiful voter,” Modi added.
He also accused the Congress of pulling of the biggest fraud of independent India in the name of removing poverty — “Garibi Hatao”. He said because of this fraud, more than 10 crore people did not have toilets, about 50 crores did not have bank accounts, and lakhs of villages were deprived of road connectivity till 2014.
He alleged that with every Congress guarantee, the Congress leaders get richer and the citizens get poorer. Modi said since 2014, the BJP government has put the truth of this fraud in front of the country.
The prime minister said the “New India” is moving forward with new enthusiasm under the BJP rule.
BJP state president CP Joshi, leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and other leaders were also present on the stage.
