Sacked minister steps up attack on Ashok Gehlot; Rajasthan CM hits out at PM Modi on Manipur

Blame game over the horrific Manipur sexual assault video and crimes against women continued to heat up on Saturday (July 22), with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and saying that his statements have hurt the self-respect of the people of his state. 

The Rajasthan CM's comments come minutes after his own party's MLA, who was sacked as a minister on Friday, kept up his attack on the state government and said the chief minister should hand over the home portfolio to someone who is capable. 

During a press conference, Union Minister Anurag Thakur seized the opportunity to criticize CM Gehlot and the Congress leadership. Thakur referred to the contrasting actions taken by the Congress party, highlighting the dismissal of a minister for speaking up while protecting another minister who made derogatory remarks about Rajasthan being a state of men.

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In response to the ongoing Manipur situation, CM Gehlot addressed the issue, citing Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh's acknowledgment of over 100 incidents of rape in his state. Furthermore, Gehlot stated that nearly 4,000 FIRs have been filed, shedding light on the severity of the matter.

"The Prime Minister has hurt the sentiments of the people of Rajasthan with the way he behaved and the way he expressed his grief, saying he wants to tell the chief ministers of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Manipur to look after law and order in their states," CM Gehlot said.

"What is not happening in Manipur? The Prime Minister says 140 crore people of India have to hang their heads in shame. That is not the case. They are actually upset with your government's deeds, your failures and your irresponsibility. The Home Minister visited the state once and murders and rapes have happened since. But the Prime Minister spoke on Manipur only for a few seconds, almost as a formality," he added.

The Rajasthan CM said even if the PM did not visit the state himself, he could have held meetings in the PMO and taken stock of the situation.

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"He is visiting various states for campaigning. It is a matter of pride for us that the Prime Minister is travelling to various countries, but Manipur is a part of our country. Manipur has a BJP government. Imagine what he would have said if it was a Congress-ruled state," the chief minister said. 

Minutes before his press conference, however, CM Gehlot found himself at the receiving end of a sharp attack from Congress MLA Rajendra Singh Gudha, whom he had sacked as a minister yesterday. 

The sacked minister, who had interjected during a discussion on Manipur in the Rajasthan assembly to point out his own government's failures in controlling crimes against women, said today that the chief minister should hand over the home portfolio to someone who is capable.

"The chief minister does not come to the House, does not give answers. He is sitting with bandages on his feet. He should hand over the home ministry to someone who is capable. There is anarchy in the state and Gehlot has lost credibility," Gudha said.

"I want to tell Mr Gehlot that our daughters are not safe and we need to work on this, but the police are busy collecting money. I have raised these issues in cabinet meetings as well. I will keep talking whether they sack me as a minister or jail me. Women are not safe in our state and the data shows this," the former minister said.

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