UCC: Gehlot says BJP trying to divert people’s attention

Mangaluru: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot alleged that the BJP has been raising emotional issues to divert the attention of the people. “They failed to speak on development and local issues that are affecting people,” he said in his reaction to BJP’s poll promise of implementing the uniform civil code (UCC) in Karnataka.
He told reporters here on Tuesday, that the BJP had raised the issue of Article 370, NRC and CAA all these years, to confuse people.
“They are engaged in the politics of emotions and sentiments. They failed to speak on good governance, financial stability and prosperity of the state. I would like to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, can they fight elections on the basis of local issues?” he challenged.
To a query as to whether the federal structure of the nation is in danger, Gehlot replied in the affirmative, and said that nobody knows as to which direction the nation is moving.
“The situation in the nation is such that journalists, litterateurs and writers are sent to jail for criticising the government,” Gehlot alleged.
He also lashed out at home minister Amit Shah, and alleged that he was engaged in horse trading after elections. On the Congress manifesto that promises decisive action as per law, including imposing a ban on the Bajrang Dal, Gehlot said that people had understood that the BJP was using the names of Bajrangbali and Ram for their politics.
On criticism that the Congress in Rajasthan failed to implement poll promises, Gehlot asked the BJP to name the promise that the Congress government did not implement. “We have implemented all promises. The government has taken decisions on the basis of the manifesto on which we have won elections,’’ he asserted.
To a query on the Prime Minister’s allegation that the Congress has been following a policy of appeasement towards terrorists, Gehlot said that it was a baseless allegation. “Can the Congress do it? Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were martyred for the nation at the hands of terrorists,” he said.