Reacting sharply to Amit Shah’s remarks on the Congress on the 45th anniversary of Emergency, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accused the Home Minister along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “hijacking” the BJP and NDA government with no breather for other leaders.
Gehlot said that BJP leaders are “not fit to question” the democratic values of Congress and Congress Working Committee (CWC).
“It is shocking that apart from three-four ministers, the public does not even know who all are there in Modi’s cabinet. Amit Shah along with Modi has hijacked the BJP and NDA government with no breather for other leaders. They are not fit to question the democratic values of Congress Party and CWC,” Gehlot said in a series of tweets.
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Gehlot’s remarks came in response to Shah’s tweets who accused Congress of “unceremoniously sacking” its spokesperson and asked the opposition party to self-introspect as its leaders are “feeling suffocated”.
I am not surprised to see that out of all opposition parties Mr Modi and Amit Shah are worried only about Congress.
1/— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) June 25, 2020
Gehlot accused the BJP of dismantling the democratic, ethnic and social fabric of the nation in six years of its rule.
“It has merely been six years of BJP and we can see how they have dismantled the democratic, ethnic and social fabric of this nation. May we know why there is no one beyond Modi-Shah in BJP? I am not surprised to see that out of all opposition parties Modi and Amit Shah are worried only about Congress,” he said.
He cited veteran BJP leader LK Advani’s observations in 2015 that the forces that could crush democracy were stronger and the Emergency could happen again.
The Rajasthan Chief Minister said that the “insecurities and fear” of both Shah and Modi were evident because only the Congress had the courage and strength to take on the “tyranny of the current regime”.
“I am not surprised to see that of all the Opposition parties, Modi and Shah are worried only about the Congress,” Gehlot said, asserting that it was the Congress “which had built, protected and nourished democracy”.
Gehlot said that India was the only robustly functioning and flourishing democracy in the South Asian region, thanks to the “magnanimous role” played by the Congress in the 70 years of history of the country.
He credited Congress for encouraging and empowering cadre and ground workers like him to hold a high position.
“It is no secret that for the last three decades, no one from the Gandhi family has held any position of power. They have always encouraged and empowered the cadre and ground workers like me… If at all we are disconnected with the public, why is Shah so worried?” he said.
The Rajasthan Chief Minister said that sacrifice is inherent in Congress’ DNA — right from former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s time to date, adding that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sacrificed her life for the nation and her contribution in creating Bangladesh a new nation will always remain India’s greatest diplomatic victory and will be remembered for generations to come.
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