Reacting sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge of Opposition parties being devoid of issues, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said it was the BJP which was indulging in polarisation and creating tension in the society. Mr. Modi had accused the “dynastic parties” of deflecting people’s attention from the real issues.
In his virtual address to a meeting of the BJP’s national office-bearers in Jaipur, Mr. Modi said certain parties were inciting the people in the name of caste and regionalism.
Mr. Gehlot said it was the BJP which was provoking the people and fomenting riots in a planned manner. “I am surprised at the Prime Minister’s remarks... It is their mentality to provoke people, cause polarisation and create tension. They are creating divisions in the society,” Mr. Gehlot told reporters on the sidelines of a programme.
Mr. Gehlot said Mr. Modi was making predictions for the next 25 years like a fortune-teller, while no one could make such claims in a democracy. “Nobody can say what will be the people’s mood tomorrow. Making such claims reflects Mr. Modi’s ego and arrogance,” he said.
The BJP had hurriedly organised its meeting in Jaipur soon after the Congress’ ‘Chintan Shivir’ in Udaipur out of “nervousness”, said Mr. Gehlot. While the Congress was building its narrative for the 2023 Assembly election in Rajasthan around the welfare schemes and all-round development, the BJP had come down from its claim of 50-year-long rule to 25 years and might further fall to five years, he said.
