Jodhpur: Rajasthan BJP chief CP Joshi on Monday said if anyone from the ruling Congress nurtures chief ministerial aspirations, he is termed “nikamma” (worthless) and pushed away by the party, in an apparent reference to Sachin Pilot.
Mr Joshi was on his maiden visit to Jodhpur, the hometown of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, to take part in BJP's ‘Jan Aakrosh Mahagherao' programme to protest against the state government's policies.
Assembly elections in Rajasthan are due later this year.
Asked about several chief ministerial candidates in the BJP, Mr Joshi said, “If we have so many claimants for the CM post, what is wrong with it? We have leaders with a mass base and popularity and we are happy with that.” “If somebody becomes a claimant there (Congress), he is termed 'nakara, nikamma' and pushed away,” said Mr Joshi comparing the two parties.
The political tussle between Gehlot and Pilot dates back to 2018 when both were keen on the chief minister's post after the Congress won in the state assembly elections. But the party high command picked Gehlot for the top post for a third time.
Mr Gehlot had called Pilot a ‘nikamma, nakara, and gaddar' (traitor) who revolted against the party in 2020 and tried to bring down the government.
During his visit, Mr Joshi held a division-level party meeting to review the party's poll preparations in all 33 seats across six districts of the Jodhpur division.
The state BJP chief called out Mr Gehlot for his continuous attack on Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society case.
“The chief minister should not be a party in this case. The matter is being investigated and then there will be an order,” said Mr Joshi.
The Rajasthan High Court has granted interim relief to Shekhawat in the case and ordered a stay on his arrest after the minister filed a criminal miscellaneous petition seeking relief in the matter.
The Union minister's move came following Mr Gehlot's continuous attack, accusing him and his family of being involved in the misappropriation of depositors' money in the name of huge return on their deposits.
In an apparent reference to Shekhawat defeating Gehlot's son Vibhav Gehlot from the Jodhpur Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections, Mr Joshi said, instead of being vengeful, Mr Gehlot should forget whatever happened.
He also slammed the state government over the acquittal of those accused in the Jaipur serial blasts and asserted that the BJP is committed to ensuring justice for all the 71 people who lost their lives.
“BJP will fight for them and would not sit still until all the 71 people get justice and the terrorists responsible get hanged even if it means spending crores of rupees,” said Mr Joshi.
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