All cases against SC/ST people will be examined: CM Ashok Gehlot

JAIPUR: Chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said the state government will examine all criminal cases registered against SC/ST people during the Bharat Bandh protest in April last year.

Gehlot was responding to BSP supremo Mayawati’s threat that her party would withdraw support to Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh if these cases were not withdrawn.

The Gehlot government has a bare minimum strength of 100 members, including one MLA of its ally RLD, to claim majority in the 199-member House elected last month. BSP has six MLAs in the new state assembly.

Treading cautiously, Gehlot said Mayawati’s demand was but ‘natural’. Gehlot thanked the BSP supremo for her unsolicited support and said, “Who is guilty or innocent is a matter of investigation.”

The chief minister stressed that the government will “uphold the rule of law” and no innocent would be punished.

Gehlot said that political leaders make statements to send out messages to their cadres and Mayawati’s statement should be seen in that context.


‘Farmers’ rally soon, to be attended by Rahul’

Jaipur: A day earlier, Mayawati had said that she would “reconsider” her party's outside support to the new Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh if cases against “innocent” people in connection with the April 2 Bharat Bandh were not withdrawn. She claimed that cases were registered against innocent people due to political and caste considerations in the then BJP-ruled states.

Talking to reporters at the PCC headquarters, Gehlot demanded that the BJP-led Centre government should waive farm loans across the country as has been done by the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

The CM said soon a farmers' rally would be organised in the state and it will be attended by Congress president Rahul Gandhi. “The details will be finalised after a discussion with state Congress president and deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who is out of the state at present,” he said.

“The Congress governments have announced farmers loan waivers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh after coming to power and work is in progress on its implementation. The NDA government should also waive farm loans,” Gehlot demanded. He alleged BJP-led NDA government at the Centre had waived bad loans worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore of select industrialists. He said the farm sector is in distress and the farmers need urgent relief in the form of loan waive off. Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, he said, “It is not the BJP that is ruling, but two persons, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The BJP and the RSS people, too, have understood this. There is an environment of hatred, violence and insensitivity in the country, he alleged.