 "ashok gehlot, rajasthan congress")
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being involved in the murder of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal last year, according to a report by PTI.
During a meeting with Congress leaders ahead of the 2023 Rajasthan assembly polls, Gehlot asserted that those responsible for Kanhaiya Lal's murder were BJP members released from police detention days before the incident. He also stated that the party had influenced the member's release from custody.
The BJP refuted Gehlot's allegations, placing blame on the Congress government for failing to prevent the murder. Rajendra Gehlot, the BJP's election in-charge for western Rajasthan, questioned why the accused if caught by the police earlier, were released. He deemed it a failure of the state government.
Kanhaiya Lal Teli was murdered on June 28, 2022 by two clever-wielding men who also shared a video of the crime online.
Gehlot expressed doubts about the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) handling of the murder case, claiming a lack of progress and transparency. He suggested that if the Special Operations Group (SOG) had retained control, there would have been more substantial developments.
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"We had caught the accused within three hours of the murder, but the NIA took over the case the same night. We do not know since then what the progress in the case has been. Had it been with SOG, there would have been some progress," Gehlot said.
Accusing the BJP of intentionally slowing the investigation for political gain, Gehlot asserted the Congress's prompt response to the incident. He criticised BJP leaders for attending a conference in Hyderabad after the murder.
"The moment the incident took place, I left for Udaipur, dropping all my programmes in Jaipur. But the BJP leaders left for Hyderabad for a conference which also included their leader of the opposition," Gehlot added.
Gehlot also challenged the BJP's Hindutva agenda, asserting that it would not resonate in Rajasthan.
"They exploited Lord Hanuman in the Karnataka election but had to bite the dust. But this time, their agenda of Hindutva will not work. Rajasthan is a model state today and only the agenda of development will work," he stated.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah's visits, Gehlot questioned the upcoming visit of Yogi Adityanath. He said, "Now Yogi (Adityanath) is coming and everybody knows what kind of person he is."
The allegations and counter-allegations between Gehlot and the BJP intensify the political atmosphere in the lead-up to the Rajasthan assembly polls, with the Udaipur murder case emerging as a contentious issue.
The Rajasthan state Assembly elections will be held on November 25 and the counting of votes will be on December 3. Rajasthan politics have been dominated by the Congress and BJP, with both parties alternating governments since 1993. Congress formed the government in the 2018 state Assembly polls with Ashok Gehlot taking the chief ministerial position.
