Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday charged Team Anna with attempts at creating unrest in the country with the help of “false propaganda and malicious canards.” The same people who tried to malign the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, were trying their tricks with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he charged.
“These people know that they cannot come to power on the basis of policies, programmes and ideology. The past experiences have proved that. The present attempt is to mislead the people with false propaganda and spread of misinformation,” Mr. Gehlot said, talking to journalists at the Pradesh Congress Committee office here.
Terming the charges against Ms. Gandhi and Dr. Singh as “unfortunate,” Mr. Gehlot noted that both had an “unblemished image” in public life. “Ms. Gandhi has the image of a person who gave up the post of the Prime Minister, while Dr. Singh, who is a renowned economist, is also known for his integrity,” he noted.
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“As I have been telling earlier also, the JP movement was also created in a similar fashion. However, the outcome proved disappointing for even Jayaprakash Narayan. The party which had taken birth out of the movement too proved transient. The government failed to deliver paving the way for the return of Indira Gandhi to power at the Centre, while the Janata Party broke up within a few years,” Mr. Gehlot said.
“As in the past, the present charges levelled by the Anna supporters against Ms. Gandhi and Dr. Singh have no basis. They are all figment of someone's imagination,” Mr. Gehlot said.
“Among the supporters of Anna are those who levelled charges against Rajiv Gandhi in the Bofors gun purchase. Nothing could be proved so far on that front too, while the Indian Army's victory in the Kargil war established the quality of the Bofors gun,” he noted.
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