Ashok Gehlot hits back at Rajyavardhan Rathore for calling Mallikarjun Kharge a ‘rubber stamp’

JAIPUR: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday hit back at BJP MP Rajyavardhan Rathore over his comments on new Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and said leaders of the saffron party should read history before speaking.
Rathore had on Wednesday called Kharge a “rubber stamp” and alleged that the party’s internal polls to elect a new chief were a “fraud”. He said BJP minds its own business.
In a stinging response, Gehlot told reporters, “These people have no shame. New boys have come... they do not understand that they should read history and then learn to speak so that their image is not spoilt.”
“They have no knowledge. What is a rubber stamp? Sonia Gandhi herself went to his (Kharge’s) place yesterday (Wednesday),” said Gehlot.
Kharge won the polls for the post of Congress president, the results of which were announced on Wednesday. He was pitted against Shashi Tharoor.
Gehlot said if there was any leader in India who commanded respect, it was Sonia Gandhi. “She refused to become PM, got the UPA government formed at the Centre twice and also got many state governments formed,” he said.
The CM also lashed out at BJP leaders for questioning what happened in the 70 years after Independence and said all the good things that have happened in the country have taken place in those 70 years.
“Not even a needle used to be manufactured here when the country got Independence. These people are misleading the public and youths. They are destroying the young generation in the name of religion and caste,” said Gehlot.
The CM also targeted Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur over his comment on the old pension scheme.
Gehlot said he had once advised PM Narendra Modi to examine the scheme and introduce it in the country to provide social security to government employees after retirement.