Manesar (Haryana): Vasundhara Raje, the BJP leader and former chief minister of Rajasthan, has finally broken her silence on the political crisis in the state, saying it is unfortunate that the people of the state are paying the price for the discord within the Congress.
In a tweet, Raje listed out the problems Rajasthan has been facing amid the Covid-19 pandemic, saying: “There is no point trying to drag the BJP and the BJP leaders names through the mud! (sic)”
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) July 18, 2020
Raje also put out another tweet saying the same things in Hindi, which is being seen as part of her messaging to the people of the state.
Also read: Sachin Pilot still on the hunt as numbers stack up against Gehlot govt in Rajasthan
Raje’s silence and growing distance from BJP
Unlike Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia and leader of the opposition Gulab Chand Kataria and many central leaders, including Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Raje had maintained silence on Sachin Pilot’s revolt against Gehlot.
The state BJP had earlier planned a meeting which Raje was to attend, but keeping the political situation in mind, it had later decided to postpone it.
But Saturday, Raje said “it is the interest of our people that must remain paramount”.
“At a time when Covid-19 has claimed more than 500 lives and positive cases are close to 28,000… At a time when locusts are attacking the farmers fields… At a time when crime against women is at an all-time high… At a time when there is a problem of electricity within the state… And I’m naming a few of the problems being faced by our people. There is no point trying to drag the BJP and the BJP leaders names through the mud (sic),” she stated .
Raje has also been keeping out of BJP activities for a while now. She was last seen on 27 June, when Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari held a virtual Jan Samvad rally for Rajasthan.
The former chief minister’s ties with the BJP high command have been soured since she began her previous term as chief minister in 2013.
When the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014, she wanted her son Dushyant Singh to be made a minister, but the idea was vetoed by then-party president Amit Shah.
‘Internal alliance’ with Gehlot
Two days ago, Hanuman Beniwal, national convener of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), an ally of the BJP in Rajasthan, had accused Raje of asking Congress MLAs close to her to support Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and “maintain distance from Sachin Pilot”.
In a series of tweets, Beniwal had said the people of Rajasthan and the country had now understood the story of Raje and Gehlot’s “internal alliance”.
ThePrint had earlier reported that two senior BJP MLAs considered close to Raje had taken exception to Pilot’s remarks insinuating coziness between Raje and Gehlot. They were the only BJP leaders to speak out on the issue.
In a joint statement, the two MLAs — former assembly speaker Kailash Meghwal and Pratap Singh Singhvi — called Pilot’s comments despicable, and said they reflected his frustration.
Also read: Gehlot govt sends police SOG team to Manesar to collect voice samples of Pilot camp MLAs