Modi, Shah trying to suppress North East protests against CAB: Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are trying to suppress the protests in the North East.

"There is a lot of anger in the country with the bill (Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019) being passed by the Parliament. Modi Ji and Shah Ji are trying to suppress it by giving statements in the media. They are not worried," Gehlot told reporters here.

He said that five or six states in the North East are 'burning'.

"Is the North East not a part of the country? There are protests and strikes in five-six states there. There is movement of security forces in the region. The prevalent situation in the country is not good," Gehlot said.

"Do they want to turn the country into a 'Hindu Rashtra' (Hindu nation)? If they want to make the country a Hindu Rashtra, they should say it out loud so people know what they are planning to do. They are taking controversial actions one after the other," he said.

Gehlot, who is also a senior Congress leader, said that only his party leader Rahul Gandhi is capable of taking on the Modi-Shah duo.

"Only Rahul Gandhi can confront Modi and Shah. Winning the election is a different thing. Only Rahul Gandhi can face them on issue-based politics. Farmers are committing suicide, there is an economic slowdown and there is a lack of employment opportunities," he said.

"Price of onions has skyrocketed to Rs 150, petrol is at Rs 75 and diesel at Rs 66. They are not even concerned about these issues. Instead, they are trying new means to distract people from core issues," Gehlot added.

The passage of Bill has sparked protests in large parts of North East, affecting mobile Internet services and public movement in the region.