Government's social welfare measures led to BJP's Gujarat win, says Bhupender Yadav

Union minister for environment and labour Bhupender Yadav said on Friday that the opposition's reluctance to discuss social welfare measures such as the Centre's Garib Kalyan Yojana in Parliament was the reason why people did not trust them.

"Same happened in Gujarat... There were polls going on, but a Bharat Jodo (Yatra) was happening elsewhere. Congress is losing the moral right to contest elections in places like Gujarat because it does not want to discuss issues related to common man," Yadav said, adding that Parliament should be used to debate matters that can benefit society at large.

Yadav, who was in-charge of the BJP's election campaign in Gujarat, said the party's electoral sweep was a reflection of the state's desire for "continuity and consistency". On Thursday, the ruling BJP recorded a historic win in Gujarat, winning 156 out of 182 assembly seats. The party's seventh consecutive win in the state polls is also its biggest since the founding of the state in 1960.

In contrast, the Congress recorded its worst ever performance of 17 seats.