Ashok Gehlot’s startling admission: ‘Vasundhara Raje helped save my government in 2020’
DHOLPUR: Targeting the BJP and his rivals in the party, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said he had requested those Congress MLAs who “took money” during the 2020 political crisis to “return it to Union Home Minister Amit Shah”.
महंगाई राहत कैंप अवलोकन, विभिन्न विकास कार्यों का शिलान्यास/लोकार्पण समारोह | राजाखेड़ा, धौलपुर https://t.co/mf3xv1GxOh
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) May 7, 2023
Gehlot accused Shah and Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of conspiring to topple his government three years ago. In an unprecedented revelation, Gehlot also claimed that former BJP Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and two other BJP leaders had helped him save his government during the crisis.
जब राजस्थान GDP में इतनी जल्दी दूसरे नंबर पर आ सकता है तो तय है हम लोगों के राहत का संकल्प जल्द ही हर क्षेत्र में राजस्थान को नंबर 1 बनाएगा।
धौलपुर के महंगाई राहत कैंप में जनता जनार्दन को मिल रही सुविधाओं, कार्य प्रणाली व प्रबंधन का अवलोकन किया।#महंगाई_राहत_कैंप… pic.twitter.com/mm4xsSVZTe
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) May 7, 2023
“Jo sankat aya hamare upar, ye Amit Shah ji, Dharmendra Pradhan, aapka Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, ye kendriya mantri hain, in sabne milke shadyantra kiya, paise baant diye Rajasthan ke andar bhi. Paise wapas le nahi rahe wo log. Mujhe chinta lagi hui hai, paisa kyun nahi le rahe wo log. Wapas kyun nahin maang rahe inse paisa (When the crisis happened, Amit Shah ji, Dharmendra Pradhan, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, they are Union Ministers, all of them conspired together, they distributed money in Rajasthan. They are not taking back the money. I am worried, why are they not taking back the money? Why are they not asking back the money from them (MLAs)?” Gehlot said at a programme in Dholpur district, which is Raje’s bastion.
कार्य के प्रमाण
उन्नत नव निर्माणमहंगाई राहत शिविरों के साथ ही राजस्थान में इंफास्ट्रक्चर के निर्माण से राहत और बढ़त साथ-साथ सुनिश्चित हो रही है।
आज धौलपुर में शिक्षा व स्वास्थ्य सहित अन्य 30 विकास कार्यों का लोकार्पण व शिलान्यास कर नंबर 1 राजस्थान की पटकथा में एक नए अध्याय पर… pic.twitter.com/jMGE6oOnRF
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) May 7, 2023
“Maine yahan tak keh diya hamare MLAs ko, jisne paisa liya hai maan lo, das karod liya hai, bees karod liya hai, jo bhi liya hai, kharch kar diya ho, wo kharch kiya hua portion main de dunga, AICC dilwa dunga unko, wapas de do Amit Shah ko das karod deo wapas. Pandrah karod hai toh pandrah karod deo usko. Uska paisa mat rakho. Uska paisa rakhoge, hamesha Amit Shah aap pe dawab bana rakhega, wo graha mantri bhi hai. Wo dhamkayega, daraega, jaise wo Gujarat mein dhamkata darata hai, Maharashtra mein dhamkake dhamkake Shiv Sena ke do tukre kar diye, pacchis MLA ko le gaya, bahut khatarnak khel khelte hain Amit Shah Griha Mantri (I have even told our MLAs who took money, if they have taken Rs 10 crore, Rs 20 crore, whatever they took, and have spent, that will give that portion which has already been spent … AICC … I will give it to them. Return the Rs 10 crore to Amit Shah, if it’s Rs 15 crore, return it to him. Don’t keep his money. If you keep his money, Amit Shah will always build pressure on you, he is also the Home Minister. He will threaten, scare, like he threatens and scares in Gujarat … He threatened Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and split the party into two halves, took away 25 MLAs … Home Minister Amit Shah plays a dangerous game),” said Gehlot.
The Rajasthan CM’s comments came a day after former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot stood firm on his demand for a probe into alleged corruption cases during the tenure of the previous BJP government led by Raje. The 2020 political crisis occurred after Pilot rebelled against Gehlot and camped in Manesar in Haryana and Delhi for over a month along with 18 MLAs loyal to him.
While Gehlot has always maintained that the BJP tried to topple his government back then and suggested that money was spent to poach MLAs, the BJP and the MLAs who had rebelled have always denied the allegations.
स्कूटी की🔑
गारंटी भी🧧शारीरक विषमताओं के बावजूद अपनी जिजीविषा से जिंदगी की रेस में शामिल लोगों को करौली के महंगाई राहत कैंप में स्कूटी प्रदान कर रफ्तार देने की कोशिश की।
इन कैंपों में दिव्यांगो और वंचितों के चेहरे की मुस्कान देखकर तसल्ली मिली।#महंगाई_राहत_कैंप… pic.twitter.com/kOqk7jMXB7
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) May 7, 2023
In the past, Pilot has termed Gehlot’s allegations “baseless”. Last year, Gehlot had called Pilot a “traitor”. The CM’s latest comments are his most scathing attack so far on the issue.
“Maine MLA ko kaha hai tumne galti kar di koi baat nahin, bhulo, maaf karo. Tumne kharch kar diya ek karod do karod, bata dijiye mujhe. Wo main khana purti karunga, Akhil Bhartiya Congress Committee ke adhayksh ko keh kar ke. Unka paisa wapas do aap log. Dawab mein nahin, aap imandari se kaam kar sako. Main pura saath dunga aap ka (I have told MLA that you have made mistakes, no worries, forget and forgive. If you have spent Rs 1-2 crore, tell me. I will refund it, by telling the president of the AICC. You return their money. You should work not under pressure but with honesty. I will fully support you),” Gehlot said.
Gehlot said Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi had made him chief minister thrice and it was his duty to forget the past and take everyone along. “Those who went away, I told them let’s forget the past and work together. The Congress is in the DNA of this country,” said Gehlot.
Meanwhile, Gehlot praised BJP MLA Shobharani Kushwaha who had broken ranks with the Opposition party and supported the Congress during the Rajya Sabha elections. Kushwaha was present at the programme. The CM then said, “When Shobharani ji supported us boldly, the BJP was flabbergasted. Secondly, Vasundhara ji Scindia and thirdly, Kailash Meghwal. Kailash Meghwal knew, Vasundhara ji knew.”
In 2020, Meghwal, a Raje loyalist, captured eyeballs by speaking against horse trading of MLAs when Gehlot accused the party of trying to topple his government.
Gehlot said that when he was the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president in the 1990s, some leaders had tried to topple the government of then CM Bhairon Singh Shekhawat when the latter had gone abroad for treatment. Gehlot said he didn’t side with these anti-Shekhawat leaders.
“That is what Kailash Meghwal and Vasundhara ji said, that we don’t have such a tradition of toppling elected governments by money power. What wrong did they say? Shobharani ji listened to them, to Vasundhara ji and Kailash Meghwal ji, and her inner voice said that I don’t want to support such people. That is why our government has survived,” said the CM.
Politicians such as Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) founder Hanuman Beniwal for long have alleged a “collusion” between Gehlot and Raje and accused Raje of helping the CM in 2020. Last month, at a press conference in Jaipur, Pilot repeatedly insinuated that to “break this perception” of detractors about collusion between Gehlot and Raje the former needed to act decisively in corruption cases during the Raje government’s tenure. Both Gehlot and Raje have denied such allegations of collusion.
Meanwhile, the CM praised Congress MLAs Danish Abrar, Chetan Dudi, and Rohit Bohra for saving his government during the 2020 political crisis. “You have been loyal to the party, the party could never forget you. If I had my way, all three youngsters would have become ministers with me. I am sad that I couldn’t make these three — the Independent friends who supported us and helped save the government, the six people from BSP — ministers because of some political reasons. The actual deserving persons were those 102 people who supported me. The actual deserving persons were those who informed me timely that a huge betrayal was going to happen,” said Gehlot.
The CM said he could never forget that political crisis. “All of you will see, this time, the government will be formed (repeated) with a good majority because of all of your blessings,” said Gehlot.
Source: Press Trust of India
