Modi weakening democracy in name of nationalism: Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to weaken the country's democracy in the name of nationalism.

Emphasizing that Modi was raising irrelevant issues to hide his own failures, Gehlot told a press conference here: "When the entire judiciary is under pressure due to serious allegations levelled against the Chief Justice of India, our Prime Minister has no time to look into such issues. On the contrary, he is busy raising such irrelevant issues."

"Judiciary is the pillar of democracy. Such a situation would not have arisen had the Prime Minister given it due attention on time. Surprisingly, he has not even spoken about such a serious issue even once.

"His election campaign is centered around Pakistan. But he is scared to speak on the growing unemployment and problems of farmers in the country. Modi is trying to weaken the country's democracy in the name of nationalism," he added.

The Congress leader also said that Modi had little experience in politics. "He has just 20 ears of experience while I have been active in politics for the past 40 years. Modi should seek advice from the Opposition on significant issues for the country's welfare," he added.

On Modi's claim that Gehlot had praised Pakistan, the Chief Minister said that it was a serious charge. "If a state government is actually doing this, then the Central government can remove it. But he is saying this only to confuse people. By saying this, he is insulting the seven crore people of Rajasthan who voted for our government and gave it a majority," he added. He also alleged that Modi was trying to spy on him by keeping tabs on the details of his Delhi trips.

Speaking about Modi's charge that the Congress government failed to fulfil its loan waiver promise made to farmers in Rajasthan, Gehlot said: "Our government has not been there for long, but we have waived loans worth Rs 1 lakh through co-operative banks. The remaining farmers are not able to get the benefit due to the non-cooperation of nationalised banks under the Central government."

"Modi asks questions and answers them himself. By doing so, he is misleading the country. He is still behaving like a chief minister, when he is the Prime Minister of the country for past five years. He should avoid personal comments. Being a good speaker isn't enough, if you don't have facts to keep before the people and only talk in jumlas," said Gehlot.

Replying to Modi's barbs during a rally in Jodhpur that Gehlot was roaming on Jodhpur's streets seeking votes for his son, Vaibhav Gehlot who is a Congress candidate from the constituency, the Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have kids and so he doesn't know how hard every father tries to ensure success for his children in this world.

"Every father in the world works hard to ensure success for his children. If I am doing the same, what's the big deal?" he asked.

--IANS

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