"Monitoring System In Place": Ashok Gehlot On Cases Against Opposition

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday alleged that the Union Home Ministry orders filing of cases against the leaders of opposition parties and then monitors these cases.

The home ministry has put in place a system to monitor the cases against opposition parties, Mr Gehlot also claimed while raising the issue of Delhi police going to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's doorstep earlier this month over his remark made in Srinagar during his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The Congress veteran was here to address the media after Mr Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member last week following Surat court's conviction in a criminal defamation case and sentencing him to two years jail term.

On March 19, a Delhi Police team queried Mr Gandhi at his residence over his "women are still being sexually assaulted" remark and asked him to provide information about the "victims" to take up their complaints.

"They sent police at Rahul Gandhi's doorsteps...They were not the police of Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, but Delhi police registered a case against him for whatever he said in public interest during his speech, and went to his house to question him for his remarks," Mr Gehlot told reporters.

Mr Gandhi sought a few days to respond, but they were not ready to wait, he said.

"The home ministry is monitoring cases going on against the opposition parties across the country. There are not only orders to register cases, but they are also being monitored. There is a monitoring system in place. And when it is monitored, whether it is the police commissioner, DGP (Director General of Police), collector, whoever, they have to proceed (to take action)," he said.

The senior Congress leader further said that whether it is the Income Tax department, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the judiciary or the Election Commission, they all face the same plight.

"This is not a political language, but I am saying this with my experience," he added.

Mr Gehlot accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of destroying the rule of law.

"Is there any rule of law left in the country? Unless every single citizen becomes concerned about this, political parties alone cannot do anything. If people support, then there will be a revolution and the government will understand," he said.

Dubbing Prime Minister Narendra Modi "arrogant" for turning a deaf ear to whatever issues Rahul Gandhi raises, Mr Gehlot asked whether the former should not be concerned about the issues being raised by the Congress leader.

He accused the BJP of playing the Other Backward Classes (OBC) card over Mr Gandhi's "Modi surname" remark, and also alleged that PM Modi was himself insulting the community.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister said that by avoiding a debate on the controversial Adani issue in Parliament, PM Modi thinks he can get rid of the entire issue, which is wrong.

On BJP's accusations that Mr Gandhi insulted the nation in his speeches abroad, Mr Gehlot said that the former Congress president only said what he has been raising in the country and nothing new.

"He said the same thing during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the main issue being that democracy is being murdered, it is in danger. But to mislead people, the BJP brings the issue of OBC and country's honour," he alleged.

Mr Gehlot also asked the prime minister why he was not making things clear by setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Adani issue.

"Setting up a JPC will not harm either Modiji or Adani. It will harm them only when they have committed a mistake. If you think you are true, then set up the JPC. The country is concerned about the way it is being fooled," he said.

He said that by not setting up the JPC, the country is not getting to know the truth.

"If the country does not know who is right and who is wrong, then people will not be able to decide when the time comes. We keep shouting, and not getting a reply. Is this democracy?" he asked.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)