JAIPUR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers staged a walk out in the Rajasthan assembly on Tuesday over a statement made by the ruling Congress party’s state in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP insisted that Randhawa’s statement on Monday implied that he was talking about eliminating PM Modi, a charge denied by the Congress which insisted that Randhawa’s remarks were not a call to harm the prime minister but made in the context of the BJP government at the Centre not agreeing to form a joint parliamentary committee to look into the allegations made by the US firm Hindenburg against the Adani Group.
“If Adani and Ambani have to be removed, Modi should be finished first… then defeat the BJP,” Randhawa said at a protest meeting on Monday, according to news agency PTI.
“Everyone is talking about Adani while they should be talking about Modi. He is destroying the country and the BJP at the Centre is selling the nation. So, our fight is not with Adani but directly with the BJP,” he said.
Rajasthan education minister BD Kalla sought to defend Randhawa, saying the state BJP leaders were twisting his statement.
“Randhwa didn’t state anything like that. He spoke of defeating Modi and saving the country. He didn’t talk about eliminating Modiji…I was present there only,” he said.
The BJP flagged Randhawa’s statement in the assembly soon after state party chief Satish Poonia wrapped up his speech on the state budget
BJP legislator Madan Dilawar said terrorists have entered Rajasthan and the state government wasn’t doing anything about it. “There is a conspiracy to kill Modi,” he said.
Deputy leader of Opposition, Rajendra Rathore said, “The way such a comment has been made on the PM, it is condemnable.”
