A Rajasthan minister was sacked yesterday, hours after raising questions in the Assembly on his own government's success in controlling crimes against women, even as his colleagues in the Congress were raising the Manipur violence issue.
The minister made the comments just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mentioned Rajasthan while expressing anguish and anger over the horrific video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur.
A Raj Bhawan statement said Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had recommended the dismissal of Minister of State Rajendra Singh Gudha from the Council of Ministers this evening and Governor Kalraj Mishra has accepted the recommendation with immediate effect.
Mr Gudha was the Minister of State for Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
During a discussion on the Rajasthan Minimum Income Guarantee Bill 2023 in the state Assembly, Congress MLAs raised the issue of the violence in Manipur. Mr Gudha, however, called for introspection from his own government.
"The truth is that we have failed to provide security to women. The way atrocities against women have gone up in Rajasthan, we should introspect instead of raising the issue of Manipur," Mr Gudha said in the Assembly.
Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore of the BJP used Mr Gudha's comments to attack the state government. "As per Article 164(2) of the Constitution, the government works on the basis of collective responsibility. The Constitution states that when one minister speaks, it means the entire government is speaking. The minister has exposed the government. I congratulate him, but it is a shameful thing."
The slugfest between the Centre and the opposition over the violence in Manipur has intensified since the horrific video of the two women being paraded naked sent waves of shock and outrage rippling through the country.
Speaking before the start of the monsoon session of Parliament yesterday, PM Modi had said, "I want to assure the nation, no guilty will be spared. Action will be taken according to the law. What happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven."
The PM also referred to incidents in Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and said: "I appeal to all Chief Ministers to strengthen law and order in their state, especially regarding our mothers and sisters, and take strictest action, be it in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh or Manipur. In every corner of India, we should rise above politics and act against heinous crimes."
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at the PM and accused him of making a "false equivalence".
"If you were angry then instead of making false equivalence with Congress governed states, you could have first dismissed your Chief Minster of Manipur," he tweeted.
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