AICC general secretary (organisation) Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday used BJP stalwart and former vice-president late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to take pot shots at chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who is out woo the Rajput community. Gehlot even accused Raje of ‘insulting’ late Shekhawat for not inviting him to any government function during her rule.
“He was the person who offered CM’s post on a platter to her leaving behind senior leaders like Ghansyam Tiwari, Ramdas Agarwal and Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi. But Shekhawat was never invited to lay foundation stone or inaugurate government scheme, which is a big insult to him. It is her history and people will not forgive her for this,” he said.
Late Shekhawat is considered among the tallest figure in the BJP and is still revered by Rajputs, who has been angry with the BJP for various reasons.
The attack on chief minister Vasundhara Raje comes at a time when she had recently toured Jodhpur, considered to be bastion of Gehlot, with a view to placating the Rajput community.
Addressing media at his residence, Gehlot accused the Raje government of being hand in glove with the sand mafia. “There is powerful bajri mafia running business in crores. Ghansyam Tiwari, who has surrendered before Raje in corruption, had mentioned this in his letter BJP president Amit Shah,” said Gehlot.
He alleged that Raje misleading PM Modi and invited him for launching of Soil Health card scheme in Suratgarh, which was already launched by Congress earlier. Similarly inauguration ceremony of Barmer Refinery was changed into work commencement as Congress inaugurated it already.
