BJP anti-Dalit, anti-reservation party, says Gehlot

JAIPUR: Now, Gehlot says ‘Mein Thansu door Nahi’ (I am not away from you) but he has attended the state assembly twice in last four years. Gehlot in his previous tenure stayed for five years and they came down to 21 seats from 113. Now he wants to come close to people but it is too late, and even the party high command has called him to Delhi.

ASHOK PARNAMI, State BJP chief

Citing massive resentment among people against the BJP government, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Thursday Narendra Modi will not become Prime Minister in the next elections.

“Achhe din aa rahe hai, Modi ja rahe hai (good days are coming, Modi is going),” Gehlot said, in a jibe on Modi’s pre-poll slogan in 2014, ‘achhe din aa rahe hai’ (good days are coming).

He said Modi and current Rajasthan chief minister, Vasundhara Raje made big announcements but none have materialised. “They have been exposed. They came to power by fooling the public. There is resentment among people against the BJP,” Gehlot told a press conference at his residence here.

Calling BJP and its ideological fountainhead, the RSS, anti-Dalit and anti-reservation, the AICC general secretary said, “I have been tracking them for the last 45 years. The two outfits never used to give credit to great personalities of the Congress in nationbuilding. They were against Dalits and Mahatma Gandhi, but today they are taking the names of personalities such as Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The day is not far when they will call Jawaharlal Nehru their leader.”

Taking credit for the peaceful protest on April 10 Bharat Bandh, Gehlot said the mass fasting observed by Congressmen across the country made people shun violence.

Over the BJP’s day-long fast on Thursday against the Parliament logjam, Gehlot said, “Observing fast was espoused by Mahatma Gandhi and now they are doing it.” He said the BJP was a fascist party that does not believe in democracy. “They could not remain firm on their policies and programmes and are now are taking Congress leaders into their fold,” he said.

He cited the example of Arunachal Pradesh, where ruling party leaders switched to BJP and brought the party to power without winning elections. “It is the BJP’s Congressikaran,” the former Rajasthan chief minister said. Gehlot also challenged RSS to come out in the open to fight elections with BJP on the grounds of ideology, instead of calling itself an organisation for the protection of cultural values.

He also said people had taught the BJP a lesson in the recent elections in Gujarat and bypolls in other states.