Ashok Gehlot has demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah over the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians. He also questioned the government's avoidance of accountability, suppression of democracy, and silence regarding the Vice President's resignation.
Ashok Gehlot: Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has once again launched a scathing attack on the central Modi government, and particularly on Home Minister Amit Shah. Questioning the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, Gehlot said, "When 26 people lost their lives in the country, whose responsibility was it? Was any accountability fixed for those deaths?" He directly demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Sharp attack on the Central Government
Addressing a gathering in Bikaner, Gehlot said that "a terrorist attack takes place in a high-security area like Pahalgam, in which 26 innocent civilians are killed, and till date it has not been revealed who is responsible for this lapse." He also said, "Is Amit Shah only the Home Minister to win elections, or is he also concerned about the security of the country?" Gehlot's statement has once again stirred up political circles. He also quipped that "when the Congress is in power and something happens, resignations are immediately demanded, but when the BJP is in power, accountability is nowhere to be seen."
Why no answers to Rahul-Priyanka's questions?
Gehlot said that "Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi constantly raise such issues where the government's negligence comes to the fore, but the central government neither answers nor takes action against anyone." He said that democracy is being strangled in the country and the voice of the opposition is being suppressed.
Attack on the government regarding Dhankhar's resignation as well
Gehlot also questioned the recent sudden resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. He said, "The resignation of a person sitting on the second highest constitutional post in the country is no small matter, but neither the Prime Minister said anything, nor did Dhankhar himself give any clear reason. Is this transparency?" He also said that "even when an MP resigns, there is an uproar in the media, but the Vice President's resignation was accepted without any discussion. This raises questions on the democratic structure of the country."
Questions raised on the Prime Minister's silence
Ashok Gehlot directly attacked PM Modi and said that "the Prime Minister himself has taken wrong decisions many times — be it demonetization, the unplanned announcement of the lockdown, or the agricultural laws. But has he ever admitted his mistake? No." He said that the government is only busy with publicity, distracting the public from the real issues.
'26 deaths are not just a statistic'
Gehlot also raised the pain of the victim families in his address and said that "the people killed in Pahalgam were not statistics, they were someone's sons, fathers, and brothers. What justice was done for their families? Is just a tweet or compensation enough?" He said that when governments become insensitive, the soul of the country also groans.
The role of the opposition and democracy
Ashok Gehlot also said that the job of the opposition is to ask questions to the government and the duty of the government is to answer. But the situation today is such that the government avoids questions, and those who ask questions are silenced by calling them traitors.
'The Home Minister should take moral responsibility'
At the end of his statement, Gehlot said that "after the death of 26 people, the Home Minister should resign, taking moral responsibility. This is the tradition, which the BJP itself repeatedly reiterated while in the opposition." He demanded that there should be an independent inquiry into the Pahalgam attack and the culprits should be punished.
