Sachin Pilot's Rare Support For Ashok Gehlot Against BJP Charges

Amid criticism by the BJP on law and order in poll-bound Rajasthan, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Monday said his party's government has reacted swiftly to incidents of crime and the situation is better than in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Sachin Pilot also targeted the BJP-led government at the Centre, saying it only misleads people and talks about religion to come into power.

Reacting to BJP leaders questioning Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who held a public meeting in Niwai, Tonk on Sunday, for not visiting Rajasthan after incidents of crime against women, Mr Pilot said the opposition party is trying to make law and order an issue as assembly elections are approaching in Rajasthan.

"Whenever any incident has taken place, action has been taken and the accused have been arrested within hours. Such incidents can happen anywhere but we have taken immediate action," Sachin Pilot told reporters in Dausa.

"We try our best to curb such incidents. What is happening in other states also has to be seen. The graph of crime is high in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, but the BJP leaders are making an issue here as Assembly elections are coming up," the Tonk MLA added.

Sachin Pilot said the BJP leaders who are raising a hue and cry over the law and order situation in Rajasthan were not visible for the last five years. Now they have started misleading people as elections are due, he claimed.

Mr Pilot also said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge should have been invited to the G20 gala dinner.

If Mr Kharge was invited, the world would have seen that the country is united, he said.

President Droupadi Murmu hosted the G20 dinner on Saturday at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, the venue for the G20 Summit of world leaders.

Later, addressing a Kisan Sammelan in Bandikui, Sachin Pilot said that the youth need to understand the thinking of the BJP to mislead them.

"Inflation is rising, industries are getting shut. Airports, railways, powerhouses were sold at throw-away prices. But, the Centre is busy creating an issue over the country's name. Both India and Bharat pre-exist.

"What invention have you done? Youths need to understand this thinking to mislead them. If we are lacking then tell us, but first understand them who are looting the country," Mr Pilot said

He further said, "They (BJP) have only one work that is to mislead and incite people, talk about religion and caste to get into power and chant Ram-Ram."

Mr Pilot alleged that the BJP-led Centre has not brought any policy in its nine years of rule and only gave speeches and published advertisements. He said that while the UPA government brought MGNREGA and RTE, and waived-off loans of the poor, the NDA government implemented demonetisation and faulty GST, increased the price of LPG cylinder manifold, and brought Agniveer scheme for defence forces enthusiasts

Sachin Pilot said that the BJP government had promised to bring back black money in the country and send back the illegal Bangladeshi migrants but nothing was realised on the ground.

He said that people understand the politics of lies and hypocrisy and its results are visible in the Parivartan Yatra of the BJP in which only a few people are taking part.

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