New Delhi: Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his frequent visits to poll-bound Gujarat, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday (October 18, 2022) said that a "camp office" of the PMO should be set up in the state.
"The prime minister started visiting Gujarat the very next day after winning the Uttar Pradesh elections. Work is suffering in Delhi. He should open a camp office of the PMO in Gujarat so that work continues smoothly," Gehlot, the Congress' senior observer for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, said.
"A prime minister is a very busy person. Why should he visit his state so often? His name is enough. Is it a small thing that the leader from this state is the prime minister? (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah is also camping here," he added.
The Rajasthan chief minister also alleged that Modi and Shah's programmes are funded by the government even though the BJP does not lack resources.
His remarks came ahead of Prime Minister Modi's two-day visit to Gujarat starting October 19, during which, he is scheduled to dedicate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 15,670 crores.
"The country is concerned about the way the Constitution is being bulldozed, democracy is in danger. The way money is being spent on the programmes of the prime minister and union home minister... They are misusing government machinery to win elections," he said.
રાજસ્થાન ના યશસ્વી મુખ્યમંત્રી અશોક ગહેલોતજી ની પત્રકારવાર્તા https://t.co/DnTDGGdtMx
— Gujarat Congress (@INCGujarat) October 18, 2022
The Congress is fighting elections "with limited resources," Gehlot said.
Congress only national party
Gehlot asserted that Congress was the only national party and said that the BJP may have won elections in north India but it was his party that kept democracy alive.
"Had democracy not been alive, how would Modi have become prime minister?" he asked. K Kailashnatha, chief principal secretary to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, had become the "de facto chief minister of Gujarat," Gehlot alleged, advising Patel to show some courage as "the chief minister is like the prime minister in a state."
The Congress will give tickets to only those whose integrity is not suspect and who do not quit the party after winning, Gehlot said, adding that the first list of candidates would likely be released after Diwali.
"People quit the party after winning the election. Can there be bigger opportunism? (Party leaders) Raghu Sharma and Jagdish Thakor are working on this (list of candidates)," he said.
इस मौके पर गुजरात कांग्रेस प्रभारी डॉ रघु शर्मा, दिल्ली कांग्रेस प्रभारी श्री शक्ति सिंह गोहिल, प्रदेशाध्यक्ष श्री जगदीश ठाकोर, सीएलपी लीडर श्री सुखराम राठवा एवं तमाम पदाधिकारी एवं कार्यकर्ता उपस्थित रहे। pic.twitter.com/KGUspWNzQm
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) October 18, 2022
Prime Minister Modi was only repeating the promises made in the past during the campaign, he said.
"People want a change and there will be a change... Our campaign has started. We are fighting elections with limited resources, they are misusing money, so they should be worried," he said.
Arvind Kejriwal like 'Modi's brother'
Ashok Gehlot also attacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal and said that he was like "Modi's brother" in terms of body language and style of speaking.
"He (Arvind Kejriwal) talks about making India number one. You have become so arrogant after winning Punjab that you will make the country number one on that basis? He talks about giving free electricity by hiring people in large numbers. Don't know where the money (for campaigning) comes from," Gehlot said.
(With agency inputs)
