Congress Will Not Be Able To Get Even 21 Seats In Rajasthan: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal slammed the Rajasthan government on the issue of corruption during his two-day visit to the poll-bound state. He claimed that the Congress would not be able to cross the mark of even 21 seats in the upcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan.

While addressing a press conference in Bharatput on Saturday, Mr Goyal mentioned a number of reasons why the Congress will lose in the upcoming assembly polls.

"The central government tried to reduce the price of oil by reducing the excise duty on petrol and diesel, but the Rajasthan government betrayed the people here by not reducing VAT on petrol and diesel even by a single rupee. The country's most expensive petrol and diesel are available in Rajasthan," Mr Goyal said.

He accused Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's government of indulging in corruption. Mr Goyal said that the central government sends money to Rajasthan but it doesn't reach the people because of corruption that takes place there.

"Tenders worth Rs 20,000 crore were given which resulted in a scam. Tenders were given to two companies. There are three ministers in the government from Bharatpur and the people here are involved in corruption. Cash worth more than 2 crores and one kg of gold was seized from the government office," Mr Goyal alleged.

Speaking on the hate crimes against Hindus, recollecting the Kanhaiya Lal's murder case, Mr Goyal said, "The Rajasthan government could have constituted a special court in the Kanhaiyalal case. The state government could have put this case on the fast track but did not. The Rajasthan government has not yet been able to punish the accused of Kanhaiya Lal."

Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, was hacked to death inside his shop in Udaipur by two men in broad daylight on June 28 last year, for allegedly posting content in support of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. The beheading had sparked public outrage across the country.

The Union Minister termed the stand of the Congress regarding the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as baseless. He said that a uniform law will be implemented in the country through the Uniform Civil Code. But the Congress leaders have become upset due to this.

He said that Modi ji's government has completed nine years. The mantra of the Modi government is service, good governance and poor welfare. There was a time when Indian leaders used to go to America and discuss only Pakistan and terrorism, but when Modi ji goes to America, development is discussed.

"When Modi ji goes to America, America talks about giving its technology. Our decades-old dispute with America in WTO was resolved during Modi ji's visit to America. Nine years ago, India was called fragile, but see, today India is the fifth largest economy in the world," Mr Goyal said.

On the Har Ghar Nal Yojana, the Union Minister said that at one time three crore houses had tap water. Today 12 crore houses get water from the tap. The work of the BJP government is its identity. On the other hand, those opposition parties pretend to be united and then fight among themselves, he said taking a jibe at the opposition meeting.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)