The purported remarks of BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia on late former Union Minister Sis Ram Ola triggered a row in Rajasthan on Saturday, prompting several political leaders, including Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, to demand an apology from the ruling party at the Centre. Ola, a prominent Jat leader from the Shekhawati region, died in 2013.
In a television debate over the recent reshuffle in the Union Cabinet, Mr. Bhatia made some offensive remarks about Ola’s induction into the Manmohan Singh government in 2013 despite his old age. Mr. Bhatia himself shared a video clip of the TV debate on his twitter account but deleted it later following the ruckus.
Mr. Gehlot reacted sharply to the remarks and demanded that BJP national president J.P. Nadda tender an apology immediately to the people of Rajasthan. “I condemn these remarks... They have created a lot of anger. Mr. Ola protected the interests of farmers in the social and political fields for more than 60 years. He received Padma Shri in 1968 for his social service,” Mr. Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.
A large number of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) activists staged a demonstration outside the BJP State headquarters here. When the BJP workers confronted them, policemen deployed at the venue controlled the situation and dispersed the protesters. BKU spokesperson Ajit Kaswan said the farmers would not tolerate humiliation of their departed leader.
Pradesh Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary and Tonk MLA Sachin Pilot said the BJP leader's remarks had shown the party's mentality of disregarding the contributions of tall leaders. Rashtriya Loktantrik Party chief and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal also condemned Mr. Bhatia’s remarks.
