Ashok Gehlot Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Lokmarg

Amritpal Dares To Demand Khalistan Due To ‘Hindu Rashtra’ Talk By BJP, RSS: Gehlot

By LokMarg 1st April 2023

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday claimed that the Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh dared to speak about Khalistan because of the frequent refrain by the BJP and RSS of ‘Hindu Rashtra’.

“A new name has emerged in Punjab, Amritpal. Amritpal Singh says that if Mohan Bhagwat and Narendra Modi could talk about Hindu Rashtra, then why should I not talk about Khalistan? Look at his audacity. He got the courage to because you talk about Hindu Rashtra?” Gehlot said addressing the divisional-level workers’ conference here.
“It is easy to start a fire but it takes time to extinguish it. This is not happening for the first time in the country. Indira Gandhi was killed because of this. She did not let Khalistan be created What should I say today?” Gehlot said.

The Chief Minister alleged that the politics of religion is being done in the country.

“Politics is being done in the name of religion in the country. But if you take along the people belonging to every religion and caste for the country’s good, this country will remain united,” he said.

Meanwhile, Amritpal Singh surfaced in a new video and said he was not “a fugitive” and will soon “appear in front of the world”.

In the unverified video, Amritpal Singh sought to address some comments about the video that surfaced on March 29.

“I uploaded a video yesterday. It was addressed to people. Public thinks that maybe the video was made in police custody because I was looking here and there in that video while talking. You can see other earlier video, I don’t talk too much looking at the camera,” he said.

Amritpal Singh also said that people should not think that that he has run away or left his friends.

The pro-KhaIistan leader, who has been declared fugitive by Punjab Police, said no one should have an apprehension that he had not run away from his people.

“Soon I will appear in front of the world. I’m not the kind of person who will go abroad and put videos,” he said.

Amritpal has been on the run since March 18, the day Punjab Police launched a massive manhunt for him.

The crackdown came almost over three weeks after Amritpal’s supporters stormed Ajnala police station in Amritsar on February 23 demanding the release of one of his close aides, Lovepreet Toofan. (ANI)

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Rajasthan: BJP Protests After Gehlot Mistakenly Reads Previous Year’s Budget

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

Opposition BJP members protested in the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday alleging that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was reading from the old budget.

Following the alleged blunder made by the Congress leader, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators protested and the assembly proceedings got disrupted.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria questioned, “Rajasthan State Assembly proceedings disrupted as the Opposition alleges that CM Ashok Gehlot presented old budget today. This budget cannot be presented. Was it leaked?”

Meanwhile, Gehlot clarified by saying, “You (Opposition) can point out only if there’s a difference b/w what’s written in the budget in my hand and its copies given to the House members. If a page was added to my budget copy by mistake, then how does the matter of leaking of budget arise?”

Taking to Twitter, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh said, “Gehlot ji remains very careless, campaigned for this year’s budget and started reading the old budget! The public was thinking of a light of relief in the darkness spread by misrule, here the Chief Minister’s light went off. Don’t know, laugh or cry!” (ANI)

Gehlot Is A Seasoned Leader, Pilot Is Ambitious But Immature

By LokMarg 24th December 2022

Asha Patel, a senior political observer based in Jaipur, discloses how a temporary truce was reached between CM Gehlot and Sachin Pilot

The volatile equation between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot saw a temporary truce while Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was passing through the state. It should be noted that this Yatra’s tenure was going to be the longest in Rajasthan. All the MLAs, leaders, and cadres of the Congress party were strictly advised not to create any kind of ruckus during the Yatra.

As for the Pilot and Gehlot tussle is concerned, it was a rare sight to see both of them flying in the same helicopter from Bundi to Jaipur airport and then proceeding to Delhi in a chartered plane. From there they went to Shimla to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister. As Jairam Ramesh said, it was not a photo-op but a show of actual unity. How did this happen?

Gehlot had called Pilot a ‘traitor’ in an interview with a news channel. It was before the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Rajasthan. Gehlot’s remarks were disapproved by the Gurjar community to which Pilot belongs. The community threatened to disrupt the yatra in the state unless their demands are met. One of their demands was to make Sachin Pilot the Chief Minister. Gehlot had remarked that Pilot can never become the Chief Minister and called him a ‘gaddar’.

The pilot is an immature leader as compared to Gehlot. What Gehlot has done in the last five years for the people of Rajasthan is marvelous. Many policies and programs started by the state government have had a positive effect on the grassroots. Gehlot is a seasoned politician who knows how to handle adversaries. Look at the recent episode at the start of the Bharat Jodo Yatra where he displayed his authority. The central leadership of Congress to knows the importance of Gehlot being at the helm of affairs.

On the other hand, Sachin Pilot knows very well that there is no use in becoming a Chief Minister for just one year. It is a political tradition in Rajasthan that no party repeats itself in the government. The pilot also knows that the next government will be led by the Bharatiya Janata Party. That is why he has been consoled and advised to remain calm. He will be fielded from Uttar Pradesh in 2024. Actually, he comes from Bulandshahar so it would be a natural choice for him.

So when Gehlot’s remark drew criticism from the Gurjar community, the party had to go for immediate troubleshooting in Rajasthan. Congress stood by its stand that both Gehlot and Pilot are assets for the party. Anyhow, the Gurjar community was assuaged. That is why both Pilot and Gehlot were present when Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Rajasthan setting aside their political differences.

The episode is now over with Gehlot’s second interview in which he clarified his stand referring to the ‘gaddar’ comment. He said, “Such incidents and accidents often happen in politics. Time fixes everything.’

So, Gehlot and Pilot’s episode has been very well fixed by the central leadership. Both have walked together with Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. There is no point in discussing it after that joint appearance.

(The narrator is an independent editor-owner of Vanijya Setu and Garibon Ka Setu weekly)

As told to Abhishek Srivastava

No Anti-Incumbency In State, Biggest Achievement: Gehlot

By LokMarg 18th December 2022

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said that there is no anti-incumbency in the state and there cannot be a bigger achievement than this.

“Even after four years, the people of Rajasthan are not against the state government, usually, such a situation happens everywhere and people start finding faults but in Rajasthan, the situation is different. There can be no bigger achievement than this for the state government,” CM Ashok Gehlot said during his address on the completion of four years of Congress government in Rajasthan on December 17.
He then reiterated a demand from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement social security across the country.

To mark the occasion, many government programs were organized in Jaipur, including a development exhibition at the Jawahar Kala Kendra.

Talking about the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), CM Gehlot said: “It is very important that the one who has served the government for 35 years gets security because it is high time for being concerned about social security. There should be a common policy for nationwide social security for which the finances should be managed by both the Centre and the states.”

Adding further, he said that Rajasthan implemented the OPS but the Centre interfered with it which is against the Constitution.

“The state government has the right to decide the pension. Pension is a state subject, so OPS shall continue. The Center cannot interfere in this. There is a provision in the constitution itself that the Right To Pension rests with the state governments,” Gehlot said.

Gehlot also slammed Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and accused him of “misleading and cheating” the people of Rajasthan.

“PM Modi himself promised the national project to Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project in the public meetings during the last elections here, but now the Center is stalling this scheme. Whatever scuffle is going on between former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and Gajendra Singh is their personal but why should the public suffer for the personal clashes between them?” he said.

Meanwhile, he also said that it was only the Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) that helped the people during the Coronavirus pandemic and the state has also come up with the Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme in Rajasthan. (ANI)

Cong Fights Unitedly: Kharge On Victory In Himachal

By LokMarg 11th December 2022

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday arrived in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Chief Minister-designate Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.

Sukhu received the Congress president and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at Sanjauli helipad.
Kharge, on the occasion, said that the party’s victory in the state Assembly polls is an example of what happens when the party fights unitedly.

“This is a victory that belongs to the people of Himachal Pradesh. This is an example of what emerges when the Congress party fights unitedly,” he told ANI.

Ashok Gehlot said that the victory of the party in the state was a new beginning for Congress and the people of the state.

“This is a new beginning for Congress as well as the people of Himachal Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi’s yatra against inflation, and unemployment, will become stronger from Himachal,” he said.

Sachin Pilot, who also arrived here, confided that Sukhu will be able to deliver the promises made during the campaign.

“I believe that Sukhu will be able to deliver all the promises given by Cong. The people of Himachal Pradesh always supported Congress. We all will work together for the development of the state,” he said.

Himachal Pradesh CM designate Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu met State Congress Chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh at her residence.

Following the meeting, Pratibha said that it is her “prime duty” to take part in the oath-taking ceremony which will take place today afternoon.

“Why won’t I attend his oath-taking ceremony? Of course, I will go. It is my prime duty to be there with him as he takes oath as CM today,” she said.

Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing Assembly, will take oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.

The oath-taking ceremony will take place at 1.30 pm on Sunday, Raj Bhavan sources told ANI.

After being chosen as the Chief Minister, the Congress leader said that he is thankful to the Congress and Gandhi family for giving him this opportunity.

Sukhu said that he is happy that despite being from an ordinary family he is going to be the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

“I am happy that I am going to be CM despite being from an ordinary family. I am thankful to the Congress party and the Gandhi family for giving me this opportunity. My mother never stopped me from being in politics. I have reached here today because of her blessings,” said Sukhu.

Sukhu is a grassroots politician who has risen from the ranks and has wide organisational experience in the hill state.

Sukhu was chairman of the Congress Campaign Committee for the assembly elections in which the party focused on local issues and made lucrative promises including an old pension scheme.

He will be the second chief minister from Hamirpur district after BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Congress won the Assembly polls in the state, winning 40 seats. (ANI)

Gehlot Joins Bharat Jodo Yatra, Calls It “Journey Of Every Class”

By LokMarg 10th December 2022

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot joined Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, along with party MP Rahul Gandhi and others on Saturday.

The padayatra resumed from Rangpuria village in Bundi district, Rajasthan.
“Cleanliness warriors and sweepers are also joining the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. #BharatJodoYatra There is a journey of every class, there is a platform to raise the issues of every class,” tweeted CM Gehlot.

People were seen joining the march in large numbers holding banners and party flags.

Bharat Jodo Yatra, which began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, will cover a further distance of 2,355 km in its 3,570-km march. It will end in Kashmir next year. It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress claimed earlier in a statement.

The Congress suffered a debacle in the assembly polls held earlier this year and the Yatra is seen as an attempt to rally the party rank and file for the upcoming electoral battles.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra has so far covered parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, and has now entered Rajasthan.

Earlier on December 8, Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge said that Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has contributed to the party’s performance in the hill state, of Himachal Pradesh.

“We have won the Himachal elections. I want to thank the people, our workers, and our leaders as due to their efforts this result has come. I want to thank Priyanka Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra also helped us with this. Sonia Gandhi’s blessings are also with us,” Kharge told reporters. (ANI)

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Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul Breaks Into Tribal Dance With Gehlot, Kamalnath

By LokMarg 4th December 2022

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi matched steps and broke into an impromptu jig with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, and senior party leader Sachin Pilot after his ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ rolled into Rajasthan on Sunday evening.

Rahul and his fellow party colleagues joined in as local artists were presenting a tribal dance performance in Jhalawar.

A video of the impromptu dance performance surfaced on social media, showing Rahul, Gehlot, and Pilot holding hands and dancing with folk artists on the stage.

Later, speaking at the Jhalawar event, Rahul took a customary dig at the BJP and RSS, saying the Congress is a party of Mahatma Gandhi and not of (VR) Savarkar or (Nathuram) Godse.

“This is Mahatma Gandhi’s party, not Savarkar’s or Godse’s. We know how to work hard,” Rahul said.

Earlier on Sunday, before the Congress’ ongoing countrywide foot march reached Rajasthan, a poster war broke out between the loyalists of Gehlot and Pilot. This was after the CM’s followers tried to replace Pilot’s posters in the Jhalawar district.

The incident came took place on Saturday, just days after the party’s national general secretary KC Venugopal held a meeting with the two leaders, who haven’t been seeing eye-to-eye in the recent past.

In a press briefing that followed after, Gehlot and Pilot were seen holding hands as the party tried to project a show of unity amid the ongoing political tussle. Venugopal had claimed that the party was united in Rajasthan.

The press briefing came on the heels of Gehlot calling Pilot a ‘traitor’ who can never become the Rajasthan CM in an interview with a television channel.

The former Rajasthan deputy CM later hit back at Gehlot, calling his accusations ‘baseless’.

On December 3, Pilot released a video asking people to join the yatra when it enters the state. (ANI)

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Gehlot Cares Less For His People, More For His Party Leaders: JP Nadda

By LokMarg 1st December 2022

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national President JP Nadda on Thursday said that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot cares less for the people of the state but more for his party and its leaders.

Nadda’s stinging attack on Gehlot came ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly polls which are due in December next year.
Nadda inaugurated the ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ in Rajasthan’s Jaipur in poll-bound Rajasthan and addressed the public of Rajasthan.

While addressing the public during the Jan Aakrosh Yatra, Nadda said,” Our ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ will cover 200 assembly seats and will have Jan Sampark Abhiyan with nearly two crore people. Gehlot-led Rajasthan government has only changed the names of schemes. Chief Minister Gehlot cares less for the state’s people but more for his party and its leaders.”

Exuding confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nadda said that the Gujarat assembly election, 2022 is going in the favour of the BJP.

“There is immense love for PM Modi in the state. CM Bhupendra Patel has done the work of development in Gujarat. We have seen positive results in today’s polling,” he added.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a massive roadshow in Ahmedabad in the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections.

People flocked on both sides of the streets through which the Prime Minister’s convoy was passing. People showered flowers on his convoy. The crowd carrying his posters were chanting “Modi…Modi..” The Prime Minister was also seen greeting people and waving his hands.

After a gap of two days, Prime Minister Modi once again returned to the Gujarat election campaign trail. His three-hour mega roadshow spans 16 assembly constituencies for the second phase of the Assembly election.

The second phase of the Gujarat election would be held on December 5.

The counting of votes will be done on December 8. Results of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections will also be declared on the same day.

The Rajasthan assembly election will choose the representatives of all the 200 seats in the state’s Legislative Assembly. (ANI)

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CM Gehlot, Sachin Pilot Bury Hatchet: ‘We Stand United’

By LokMarg 29th November 2022

Displaying a show of unity in Rajasthan Congress, General Secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday reiterated Rahul Gandhi’s statement describing both Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot as “assets to the party”, while trying to send a message that the party is supreme and the state leaders are united to win the 2023 Assembly elections.

As the rivals stood next to each other holding hands to present the optics days after Ashok Gehlot called Sachin Pilot a traitor, the party sought to send out a message of resolving the ongoing crisis.

“We are united. Here Ashok Ji and Sachin Pilot Ji have said that the Congress party in Rajasthan is united. Rahul Gandhi has clearly stated that both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot are assets to the party,” Venugopal said.

Sachin Pilot, whose alleged revolt had triggered the crisis in the state Congress, said that the state is all set to welcome the Bharat Jodo Yatra which will enter the state on December 5.

“Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi will be welcomed with maximum enthusiasm and energy in Rajasthan. The Yatra will spend 12 days in the state. It will be a historic Yatra with the participation of all sections of people,” Pilot said.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the message of the top leadership in Congress goes to the grassroots prompting the leaders to work together.

“Rahul Gandhi said yesterday that Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot are assets to the party. It is a specialty of our party that when the message comes from the leader, it goes down till the bottom and we work together for the betterment of the party,” Gehlot said.

Acknowledging the challenge of the 2023 Assembly elections in Rajasthan, the Chief Minister said that it is essential for the party to win elections, adding that the DNA of Congress and the country is the same.

“We have the challenge of the 2023 Assembly elections in Rajasthan. It is essential for us to win the elections, it is for the country’s welfare. If Congress is strong, only then the future of the country will be strong because of the challenge that is before the country for which Indira Gandhi gave up her life, and Rajiv Gandhi was killed attempting to establish peace. Congress and the country have one DNA,” Gehlot said.

The remarks of the Congress General Secretary came during his visit to Rajasthan to review the Bharat Jodo Yatra preparedness.

According to the sources, Venugopal held a meeting of all the state leaders of the party in the State Congress Committee War Room in Jaipur.

“He instructed everyone to remain disciplined,” sources said.

The Chief Minister lauded Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra and said that the country has accepted the former Congress president’s message during the march.

“The BJP is so worried that they are levelling allegations on the Yatra, and also putting pressure on the media. The way Rahul Gandhi has led the march and the message that he is giving, there is a new ray of hope in the country. The country has accepted the issues that Rahul Gandhi has raised. There can be surprising results in Gujarat,” he said.

The Congress has seen recurrent factionalism in the state with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and party leader Sachin Pilot at loggerheads over the issue of leadership in the state. (ANI)

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Judiciary, EC, ED, CBI Are Working Under Fear: Gehlot

Cong To Win 125 Seats In Gujarat Polls: Gehlot

By LokMarg 21st November 2022

With Rahul Gandhi all set to address his first election rally in Gujarat today, Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Monday showed confidence in the party doing well in the upcoming Assembly polls stating that the people are “agitated” against the ruling BJP.
Speaking to ANI, Gehlot said, “Congress will do well in these elections because the mood of the public is against BJP for mismanaging COVID and the economy. Our party is looking at winning 125 seats and we are well on course to do that. Opposition to the BJP government this time wasn’t there the last time. People are agitated. The entire country saw the mismanagement during COVID, especially in the state which was strong even before independence.”

“There was Morbi incident. We demanded a fair probe by a sitting or retired judge of HC. But it didn’t happen. Gujarat HC took suo moto cognisance. People died due to illicit liquor. The government’s politics of gimmicks are not going to work, there will be surprising results,” he added.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over their frequent visits to the state lately, Gehlot claimed that they are doing so as the BJP is “being wiped out of Gujarat”.

“Ever since they won UP polls, PM Modi-Amit Shah started coming here (Gujarat) regularly. It means they feel BJP is being wiped out of here. What does it mean if they come here every week? Shows their weak condition. So, both of them set a camp here,” he said.

When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s absence from the election campaign in Gujarat, the Congress leader said that the former party president is giving priority to the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

“We don’t need to do it. Rahul Gandhi is carrying out the yatra for every state, including Gujarat. Every household knows the issues being raised by him. It wasn’t possible for him to be here physically as he is giving priority to the yatra. He’s coming here today and will speak his mind,” he said.

He also took a swipe at the Aam Aadmi Party, which is also in the fray and looking to make inroads into Gujarat, and claimed that the party’s credibility has been reduced.

“Someone should ask Kejriwal why did they suddenly withdraw the campaign from Himachal? They have just propped candidates there. Who knows if they withdraw from here too? Are they colluding with BJP? Their credibility has gone down,” he said.

Gehlot slammed the BJP over the ‘love jihad’ issue and accused the party of doing politics on with an aim to target “one community”.

“It’s an unfortunate incident. It has been given a name and ‘jumla’ has been made. Inter-caste and interfaith marriages have been taking place for a long time now. But politics is being done on the basis of the manner in which one community has been targetted,” he said.

Voting for the two-phased Gujarat Assembly elections will take place on December 1 and 5, and the counting of votes will take place on December 8. (ANI)

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