Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a frontal attack on Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, alleging that the Congress leader has been filling party coffers by “looting the state”. Addressing booth-level party workers meeting in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, the senior BJP leader also claimed that Congress prefers Gehlot as chief minister over his former deputy Sachin Pilot as his contribution to filling party coffers with the “corruption” money is higher.
“Pilot sits on dharna on any pretext… his contribution may be higher on the ground but his number will not come because his contribution in filling the coffers of Congress party is less and Gehlot’s contribution is higher,” Shah said, adding that the two leaders are fighting unnecessarily as the BJP will form the next government in Rajasthan.
The two Congress leaders have been at loggerheads for a long time but the crisis deepened after Pilot revolted against Gehlot’s leadership. The wedge between the two leaders again led to an embarrassing situation for Congress ahead of the election for party president when Gehlot loyalists revolted against the high command and skipped a CLP meeting. Recently, Pilot observed a one-day fast against his own government alleging inaction on corruption charges against the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government.
Shah alleged Gehlot has made the Rajasthan government “an ‘adda’ (hub) of corruption and has looted the state. This money of corruption has gone to the coffers of the Congress party”.
“More than two dozen papers have been leaked in Rajasthan and Mr. Gehlot still wants power… do you want to score a century? The people of Rajasthan no longer want you,” Shah said.
“Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government is one of the most corrupt governments in the history of Rajasthan. People are fed up,” he claimed.
On the acquittal of the accused in the 2008 Jaipur bomb blast case, Shah alleged that the Congress government did not present proper arguments in the high court due to vote bank politics.
“Gehlot ji, you are doing politics over the victims of the bomb blasts… Do you think the people are not watching? They had made up their mind the very same day against your government when you had banned the Ram Navami procession and saffron flags,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
