Ashok Gehlot slams BJP for allegation against Rahul Gandhi
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Sunday slammed the BJP over its allegation that Rahul Gandhi insulted OBCs with his “Modi surname” remark in 2019 and said his party has done a lot for the backward classes, including making an OBC leader like him Chief Minister thrice.
He also pointed out that his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel was also an OBC.
Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his “why all thieves have Modi surname” remark. He was later disqualified from the Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the case.
Addressing a gathering at the Congress’ day-long “Sankalp Satyagraha” at Rajghat, Mr Gehlot said Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an “experiment” during the Gujarat polls in 2017 by saying that a Congress leader abused him and highlighted his OBC status.
In a repeat of that experiment, the BJP is claiming again before elections that Rahul Gandhi insulted OBCs, Gehlot said.
“In 2017, when the BJP was losing the Gujarat elections, Modi ji played the OBC card against the Congress there. The BJP today again wants to run a campaign to mislead the OBCs,” he alleged.
“Are fugitives like Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi OBCs?” he asked. “You are protecting fugitives such as Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, and then saying Rahul Gandhi insulted OBCs. Can anyone forget what the Congress has done for OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,” Gehlot posed.