Jaipur, Jun 22 (PTI) Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday accused the BJP of undermining the people’s mandate by inducting MPs from opposition parties into the NDA fold and alleged that the ruling party was trying to weaken democratic opposition voices.
The Congress leader said the BJP had sought a “400 paar” mandate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but was restricted to 240 seats by voters and now depended on NDA allies to remain in power at the Centre.
“The BJP’s continued poaching of Members of Parliament is a direct and open challenge to the people’s mandate. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had appealed to the public to give it ‘400 paar’ seats. However, the alert and aware people of the country kept it away from a majority and restricted it to just 240 seats,” he said in a statement.
“Today, the NDA coalition is in power at the Centre, and there appears to be no visible strain within the alliance at present. Even so, breaking away MPs from parties such as the Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena, and BJD and inducting them into the BJP and the NDA clearly shows that, in the face of money power and muscle power, the BJP has little regard for the people’s mandate,” he added.
Gehlot said that the “politics of defections” was earlier confined largely to Gujarat, where, despite having a stable government with a full majority, the BJP continued to engineer defections among opposition legislators throughout its five-year term.
‘Now, this so-called ‘Gujarat Model’ has been extended across the country,” he said.
He said that voters should not only question the BJP but also those MPs who have now switched sides and joined the NDA.
“They must be asked: when the people elected them for five years by voting against the NDA’s policies, with what justification have they now gone and sat in the NDA’s lap?” he said.
He urged young people to understand the ideologies and policies of political parties and participate actively in the democratic process.
The Congress leader said that the Narendra Modi government appears to have no focus on sensitive issues affecting ordinary citizens, such as inflation, unemployment, corruption, and paper leaks.
“Yet behind the scenes, the unethical buying and selling of MPs continues unabated. Does this government want to completely crush every democratic voice of opposition and dissent? Is India’s great democracy now on the verge of gasping its last breath?” Gehlot said.
He said that Rahul Gandhi has consistently been raising the issue of the Constitution both inside and outside Parliament. PTI SDA KSI KSI
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.