During Jodhpur clashes, Ashok Gehlot was celebrating birthday: JP Nadda slams Rajasthan CM

BJP national president JP Nadda, who is currently on a two-day visit to Rajasthan, on Tuesday, addressed the booth convention of Bikaner district in Suratgarh town of Sriganganagar. During his address, the BJP President seemingly took a dig at Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot by saying that every time they open a newspaper, there is a new incident happening in the state. He accused the CM and his decades-old party of coming up with new tactics of blaming RSS and BJP for what is happening in the state. 

 BJP President JP Nadda said, "Every time we open a newspaper, we see a new incident happening in Rajasthan. When there was violence in Jodhpur, Ashok Gehlot was busy celebrating his birthday. It was his responsibility to visit Jodhpur but he did not."

"They have come out with new tactics that they will blame RSS and BJP for what is happening in Rajasthan. Rajasthan is on top for atrocities against women, and Dalits in the country. The state's leaders are also involved in corruption," he added. 

Further speaking about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and how the ruling BJP party tackled it by providing vaccines to people, he said, "Earlier, India used to ask for aid & help from foreign nations, now, under PM Modi instead of seeking help from the world, we provide help to them. We've given 18.5 crore vaccine doses to 100 countries."

As per Rajasthan BJP's official release, Nadda is on a two-day tour to the state. After addressing the booth convention in Suratgarh, he will also inaugurate the Hanumangarh district office and also virtually inaugurate 9 district offices from Hanumangarh. 

Jodhpur Clashes

On the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr and Akshaya Tritiya, a violent clash broke out between two communities at the Jalori Gate in Jodhpur on May 2. As per sources, the altercation started after objections were raised to a flag being raised at the Balmukand Bissa circle. After stone-pelting started, the police tried to control the situation and disperse the crowd by resorting to lathi-charge and tear gas.

As a precautionary measure, the Jodhpur district administration temporarily suspended internet services in the district. This followed after several people were injured in stone-pelting between two communities on May 2 after some miscreants replaced one community's religious flag at Balmukand Bissa at the Jalori Gate intersection circle with another. This resulted in clashes.

During this, the crowd also uprooted loudspeakers installed in the area for Eid prayers. Police reached the spot and intervened in the matter to disperse the crowd.

Karauli violence

On April 2, communal clashes had broken out in Rajasthan's Karauli district after a bike rally organised to mark the Hindu new year was allegedly pelted with stones as they passed through a market, leading to a confrontation between the two groups.

According to the police, stones were pelted at those participating in the motorcycle rally when they were crossing a minority community-dominated area. Following this, arson and vandalism were also witnessed during the rally.