Undeclared emergency in country, no one knows where it is headed: Gehlot

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hit back saying there is an undeclared emergency in the country and no one knows in which direction the nation is headed.

He also said that the prime minister should focus on development work instead of counting the shortcomings of the erstwhile governments.

Replying in Rajya Sabha to the debate on Motion of Thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind's address, Modi held the Congress responsible for a host of issues.

He said if the Congress was not there, the country would not have seen the Emergency, the massacre of Sikhs and the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley.

Speaking to reporters after attending the 'Chintan Shivir' of the Congress here, Gehlot asked what's the point of counting the reasons for the imposition of the Emergency when they are already known to all.

"Today there is an undeclared emergency... L K Advani ji had indicated this as soon as the government was formed. There was pressure on him from the RSS and he had to shut up... the entire country knows," Gehlot said.

"The world knows that the Emergency was imposed and a decision was taken. After that, our government fell... Everyone knows that the Emergency was imposed, why it was imposed and what happened during the Emergency.

"Will you keep telling the shortcomings (of the previous governments) or make your own history? If you talk about development, then it is understandable," he added.

On Modi's allegation that the Congress instigated labourers to leave for their native states during the COVID-19 lockdown, Gehlot said the BJP-led government has created an atmosphere of mistrust and tension in the country.

"Nobody knows what is happening in the country, in which direction the country is going. There is an atmosphere of violence, unrest, mistrust and tension in the country. These are our allegations against NDA, BJP and RSS and on the contrary, PM Modi is telling us that we are provoking people," he said.

On the 'Chintan Shivir' of the Congress, the chief minister said everyone put forth their views with an open mind.

The Legislative Assembly session is going to start and elections are also coming up, so we would like to prove ourselves to the people of the state who elected the Congress.