Gajendra Shekhawat steps up attack on Congress over Rajasthan crime situation

Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who represents Jodhpur in Lok Sabha, led the BJP’s offensive against the Congress government in Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday stepped up the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) offensive against Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan, claiming that the law and order situation in the state has collapsed and women are no longer safe.

BJP MPs from Rajasthan stage a protest near the Gandhi Statue at Parliament House complex on Friday (HT Photo/Sanjeev Verma)

A million criminal cases have been registered in the last four-and-a-half-years in Rajasthan which was known for its law and order situation, he said.

Shekhawat, a BJP lawmaker from Jodhpur, also referred to an incident in Cheria village of Osian where four members of a family were killed and burnt to insist that the law and order situation had gotten out of control after Ashok Gehlot came to power a little over four years ago.

The minister also cited Congress legislator Divya Maderna’s sharp criticism of the state police and her remark that she did not face safe after an attack on her though police personnel had been deployed for her security.

Shekhawat pointed to the power struggle within the Congress in the state over the last four years, saying the people were the biggest losers in this tug of war.

“Today the situation in Rajasthan is such that criminals are being released from jails at gunpoint. Criminals in police custody are seen fighting each other... Seeing this, it is clear that there is fear among the common people of Rajasthan and the morale of the criminals is high.”

BJP state In charge Arun Singh said it was clear that the law and order machinery has collapsed in Rajasthan and there is a jungle raj in the state.

“The government and the police administration are trying to suppress incidents. We saw this in Karauli when a Dalit girl was abducted, raped, and murdered there. After all this, when the girl’s mother went to the police, the police said don’t file a case, compromise, otherwise you will be also put in jail. Such incidents are happening every day in Rajasthan,” Singh said.

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