'Dalits, Tribals Should Have Done It...': Gehlot Accuses BJP Of Using Ram Temple Consecration For Political Gain

New Delhi: Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of missing an opportunity to send a message against untouchability by taking the lead role in the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the Ram temple, which will be attended by Prime Minister Modi, is scheduled for January 22. Gehlot told reporters in Jaipur that the prime minister should have let the Dalits, tribals, OBCs and people of all faiths perform the ‘pran pratishtha’ (consecration) of the temple, while keeping Shankaracharya in the front.

He said that the President and the former president, who are both from the Dalit community, as well as veteran BJP leader LK Advani, should have been invited to the event. Gehlot, who is a senior Congress leader, said that the prime minister should have also announced that there will be no untouchability in the country after January 22, just like he had asked people to beat thalis (plates) during the Covid pandemic.

इंडिया गठबंधन, राजस्थान में मंत्रियों के विभाग बंटवारा न होने व श्रीकरणपुर में मतदान समेत तमाम समसामयिक मुद्दों पर मीडिया से बात की। pic.twitter.com/FUq81GeMKk

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) January 5, 2024

He said that untouchability is a blot on humanity and the prime minister should have vowed to erase it. He said that the prime minister’s stature and respect would have increased by doing this, regardless of whether people liked him or not. “I too would have liked it, but you (Modi) are doing ‘pran pratishtha’ alone,” he said.

Gehlot also accused the BJP of using the Ram Temple inauguration ceremony for political gain. "The way the NDA government, Prime Minister Modi and Yogi Adityanath are taking interest in the construction of Ram temple... In the name of Ram temple, politics is being played only to win the elections," the former Rajasthan CM said.

Gehlot Attacks BJP Over Democracy, Governance

The former chief minister also alleged that democracy is under threat in the country and that the central agencies like the Income Tax department, the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were being misused by the BJP. He also lashed out at the BJP leadership over the delay in allocating portfolios to the ministers in Rajasthan. He said that Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, who is a first-time MLA, needs time to learn the ropes, but he is being controlled by a remote.

“I had congratulated the chief minister. He became an MLA for the first time and becoming the chief minister is a big opportunity. His party high command should do justice to him. The way the party is treating him, he is being run by a remote,” Gehlot said. He said that the formation of the cabinet took time and now the portfolios are not being distributed.

Gehlot Comments On DGP’s Retirement

Gehlot also remarked on the voluntary retirement of Rajasthan Director General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra, who quit his post with immediate effect due to personal reasons after the change of government in the state. “The DGP has taken VRS, he was a good man,” Gehlot said.

Mishra, a 1989-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was replaced by Director General (Home Guards) UR Sahoo, who was given the additional charge of the DGP by the Rajasthan government on December 29, 2023.