Union Minister Shekhawat mocks Gehlot's 'conspiracy to remove CM Bhajan Lal Sharma' claims

Jaipur, June 25 (IANS) Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Rajasthan Water Resources Minister Suresh Rawat launched a scathing counterattack on former CM and veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot over his recent 'conspiracy to remove current Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma' claims.

While Rawat accused the previous Congress regime in the state of being engaged in internal conspiracies and political theatrics, Shekhawat shared a meme featuring Ashok Gehlot and Rahul Gandhi cutting the ribbon of a shop named ‘Jhooth Ki Dukan’ (Shop of Lies), with the caption: “The ribbon was cut, but the goods weren’t sold.”

The sarcastic take aimed to highlight what he described as the Congress party's repeated attempts to mislead the public through baseless narratives.

Rawat said: “For five years, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot were engaged in constant power struggles, conspiring to remove each other. The Congress government was marred by internal conflict, and as a result, Rajasthan suffered a major setback in development.”

He further asserted that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Rajasthan is now on the path to all-round development.

“Congress leaders are unable to digest this progress and are trying to mislead the public to distract from their own failures,” he added.

Union Minister Shekhawat also responded to Ashok Gehlot's claims, ridiculing the former CM’s allegation of a conspiracy to remove the current Rajasthan Chief Minister and shared a meme of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi with Ashok Gehlot while captioning it as 'jhooth ki dukaan'.

It needs to be mentioned that Gehlot, earlier on Wednesday, claimed that a conspiracy is being made to remove Bhajan Lal Sharma from his CM post.

He alleged that a conspiracy is underway to oust Bhajan Lal Sharma from the Chief Minister's office.

Addressing the media at Jodhpur Circuit House, Gehlot said: "A conspiracy is going on to remove Chief Minister Sharma. Some of CM Sharma's party leaders, operating between Delhi and Rajasthan, are behind this. The entire planning has been done. We've been trying to warn him but he is not paying attention."

Gehlot, expressing concern for CM Sharma, remarked: "He is a first-time CM. We believe he should be given a fair chance. But the situation in Rajasthan is serious. Instead of supporting him, some within his own party are trying to pull him down."

Responding to questions about Opposition's criticism, Gehlot clarified: "We cannot make baseless allegations against him as it's been just one and a half years since this government came to power. We are only presenting facts that the public is already talking about."

Bhajan Lal Sharma, the MLA from Sanganer, emerged victorious in the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections, defeating Congress candidate Pushpendra Bhardwaj by a margin of 48,081 votes.

Notably, on Monday, Chief Minister Sharma said: "Our one and a half years of governance have outperformed their (Congress) five-year tenure."

The Chief Minister accused Congress of exploiting the underprivileged ones under the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao'.

--IANS

arc/pgh