Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday said the “ideological bankruptcy” was the hallmark of Bharatiya Janata Party, which had come to power at the Centre by mobilising a section of the electorate in the name of Ram temple and Hindutva. The BJP had nothing constructive to offer to the nation, he said.
“You have exploited Hindutva and played with people’s sentiments to grab power, but you don’t have the courage to take the names of top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Jan Sangh ideologues who had no role in the freedom struggle,” Mr. Gehlot said, while replying to a debate in the State Assembly on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s speech.
‘Political necessity’
Mr. Gehlot said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was compelled by “political necessity” to skip the name of Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee in the BJP’s election campaign in West Bengal. “By making a reference to Rabindranath Tagore, Modi Ji went against his own world view... The ideas of such great people are contrary to his own thoughts,” he said.
“Tagore had said that the humanity is above all. Subhas Chandra Bose was against the Hindu Mahasabha. Vallabhbhai Patel had banned the RSS,” Mr. Gehlot said, while pointing out that Mr. Modi, who should feel embarrassed, had found a way out by never mentioning the names of former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi despite their immense contributions to nation building.
Mr. Gehlot said the Congress government in the State had waived farmers’ loans disbursed by cooperative banks, but the Prime Minister was not willing to get one-time settlement for the loans of nationalised banks. Hitting out at Mr. Modi, the Chief Minister said his only contribution was the creation of an atmosphere of fear, in which social activists were being arrested and the Opposition leaders were being targeted.
