'Unfortunate': Sacked Rajasthan minister says nothing happened on women safety front under Gehlot government

Rajasthan minister Rajendra Singh Gudha, who was sacked for questioning his own government on the issue of women safety, on Monday said that it is “unfortunate” that nothing was done for the safety and security of the women under the Ashok Gehlot government.

“Our mothers and sisters sent us to the Assembly with the hope that we will do something for their safety and security. However, it is unfortunate that nothing as such happened,” said Gudha.

VIDEO | “Our mothers and sisters sent us to the Assembly with the hope that we will do something for their safety and security. However, it is unfortunate that nothing as such happened,” says Rajendra Singh Gudha, the Rajasthan minister who was sacked for questioning his own… pic.twitter.com/NI3Jpep0iI

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 24, 2023

Gudha, who held charge as Minister of State for Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, has been targeting Gehlot following his sacking on Friday evening, hours after he cornered his government in the Assembly over the issue of crimes against women in the state.

Gudha also claimed on Sunday that he had save Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot from trouble but was removed without being given an opportunity to explain himself.

“If Rajendra Gudha was not there, the chief minister would have been in jail,” he claimed at a programme in Jhunjhunu district.

Speaking to media persons, he claimed that he had secured a “red diary” on the directions of the chief minister during a raid by the ED and Income Tax Department against Congress leader Dharmendra Rathore.

“The chief minister called and asked me to retrieve the ‘red diary’ at any cost,” he claimed, without going into details of the diary’s contents.

He claimed the chief minister had repeatedly asked him if he had burnt the diary and added the CM would not have done so if there was nothing incriminating in it.

The BJP latched on to his statement to target the ruling Congress in the state.

“Rajendra Guddha makes sensational disclosure about a Red Diary that contains the alleged black deeds of Congress- Gehlot Govt.

“Will those who know the truth about the black deeds of corruption and women atrocities now answer about this?” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla tweeted.

Gudha, who is among six MLAs who won the 2018 assembly election on a BSP ticket before defecting to the Congress in September 2019, was inducted as a minister in November 2021.

They had supported Gehlot in July 2020 during his tussle with his then-deputy Sachin Pilot. However, in the last few months, Gudha has made statements in favour of Pilot.

Meanwhile, BJP Rajasthan MPs along with senior leaders held a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises against the issue of rising atrocities and crimes against women in the state.

#WATCH | Delhi: BJP Rajasthan MPs along with senior leaders hold a protest in front of the Gandhi statue. The protest is against issues of rising atrocities and crime against women in the state. pic.twitter.com/ruyKBbsZEM

— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2023

BJP MP Ravi Kishan slammed the Gehlot government on the issue and demanded Chief Minister’s resignation.

“We demand the resignation of Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. The atrocities on Dalits (women) need to be stopped. The atrocities have tremendously increased and so we are protesting here in front of the Gandhi Statue on the Parliament premises,” he added.

#WATCH | Delhi: On BJP’s protest against rising atrocities & crime against women in Rajasthan, BJP MP Ravi Kishan says, “We demand the resignation of Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. The atrocities on Dalits (women) need to be stopped. The atrocities have tremendously increased and so… pic.twitter.com/bLrZPf6ADf

— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2023

BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav said the Rajasthan government has failed to protect women in the state.

“There are atrocities against women in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Manipur. The Opposition can only see Manipur but Rajasthan and other states have been ignored. Rajasthan Govt has failed to protect women in the state,” said Yadav.

With inputs from agencies