Team News Riveting
Jaipur, April 21
In an apparent swipe at Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said, “Those who cannot win elections have deserted the field” and become Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan.”
Mrs Gandhi was elected a member of the Upper House of Parliament from Rajasthan unopposed. Before her Rajya Sabha stint, Mrs Gandhi has represented Congress stronghold Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha for two decades. She has also represented Amethi for five years.
The Prime Minister was in Rajasthan’s Jalore to campaign for BJP’s Lumbaram Choudhary, who is taking on Congress’s Vaibhav Gehlot, son of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The Jalore constituency is a BJP stronghold, with the party winning it consistently for two decades.
Addressing the rally, the Prime Minister questioned if Congress MPs representing Rajasthan in Rajya Sabha raised the state’s issues. “The Congress sent a South leader to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Has he never spoken about Rajasthan? No. You also sent former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Rajya Sabha. He was unwell, but did you see him in Rajasthan? And now, you have saved another leader. Those who cannot fight elections, win elections have deserted the field and come to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan,” he said, without naming Mrs Gandhi.
Currently, six Congress MPs represent Rajasthan in Rajya Sabha — Sonia Gandhi, Neeraj Dangi, Randeep Singh Surjewala, KC Venugopal, Pramod Tiwari and Mukul Wasnik; only Dangi is actually from Rajasthan.
The Prime Minister said the people of Rajasthan had “punished” Congress in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan. Twelve out of 25 seats in the state had voted in the first phase last Friday. The remaining will vote this Friday.
