New Delhi (Agency): Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur, delivered a strong criticism of the Congress government in Rajasthan, terming it “Geh-Loot” rule and attributing to it the rising crimes and corruption in the state. Thakur’s comments came during a conference of the BJP’s youth representatives at the Birla Auditorium.
Thakur began by contrasting the economic performance of the previous UPA government with the current Modi government, asserting that India’s economy was faltering during the UPA era. He praised the Modi government’s efforts, stating that India became the world’s fifth largest economy under its leadership.
“The economy was stumbling nine years ago when the government of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi was there. It was the tenth largest economy in the world. When the Modi government came, it worked with honesty, steered the country through the coronavirus crisis and took the economy from the tenth to the fifth largest,” Thakur said.
The Union Minister also took aim at Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, accusing them of being selective in their responses to crimes against women. He emphasized that they visit other states when such crimes are committed but have remained silent on incidents in Congress-ruled Rajasthan.
“A woman is gang raped in front of her husband. What did the chief minister do? A tribal girl was gang raped and thrown into a well. A woman was raped and burnt alive in Barmer. Rajasthan minister says it is a state of ‘mard’ (men),” Thakur remarked, highlighting some recent cases.
Thakur further accused Rahul Gandhi of failing to fulfill his promise of loan waivers for farmers in Rajasthan, made during the 2018 Assembly elections. He alleged that thousands of farmers had their lands seized in the state, and the former Congress president did not meet them.
The Union Minister also touched upon national issues, praising the Modi government for abrogating Article 370 and criticizing the previous government’s handling of Kashmir. He said, “You could not go to Kashmir during your rule but it is the Modi government that abrogated article 370 and treated the wound forever which was given to the nation by your maternal uncle Pandit Nehru.”
In the presence of BJP state leaders, Thakur called upon the youth representatives to seek votes for the BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections to form a “double-engine” government that would accelerate development.
Later at a press conference, Thakur reiterated his criticism of the Congress government in Rajasthan, describing the state as having an “atmosphere of fear and corruption.”
“The state whose image was completely different earlier, where has it come in five years. There is an atmosphere of fear and corruption. Crime and loot are visible everywhere,” he alleged.
