BJP fields women leaders in Guj to counter Rahul jibe, hit hard at Congress

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday appeared to pit its senior national women leaders to counter and hit out at the jibe by Congress vice president couple of days ago that women do not get to play a prominent role in the saffron brigade.

Union Information & Broadcasting minister Smriti Irani on Thursday continued her tirade against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi from her attack in Amethi. Participating in the Gujarat Gaurav yatra of the party at Dediapada in South Gujarat, she said that while Rahul has not been able to develop his constituency Amethi how can he talk of development in Gujarat. “He has not even been able to get a collectorate constructed,” she said. “They have not even completed works begun by Nehru ji 60 years ago. The Amethi is getting rail connectivity only now after BJP government is in power.”

Joining her in the chorus was Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who participated in the “Gaurav Yatra,” at Deesa in Banaskantha district of North Gujarat. The Rajasthan CM accused Congress of retarding the development of the country and the state in 70 years it was in power. “See how our leader Narendra Modi has transformed Gujarat in 20 years and has proved to the country that development could be the most important issue in an election. But it was beyond the comprehension of the Congress,” she said.

Finally, senior Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti on Thursday raised the issue of re-investigation of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. She appeared to be trying to nudge the needle of suspicion in the assassination of Mahatma towards Congress.

“Though it was accepted that Nathuram Godse fired the bullets that killed the Father of the Nation, the question still remains as to who were the forces behind the curtain that could have brainwashed Godse to assassinate the Mahatma,” she said speaking to media persons at Palanpur in Banaskantha  on the sidelines of ongoing “Gujarat Gaurav Yatra” moving along 149 of 182 Assembly constituencies across the state.

She said that the only one to “benefit” from Gandhiji’s assassination was Congress. “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Jana Sangh suffered heavily following Gandhiji’s assassination as the government had imposed a ban on the organizations and the country at large was a big loser,” she added.

To support her theory, she said that soon after independence, Gandhiji had suggested that the Congress party be disbanded as it was formed primarily to obtain freedom. “In fact just before his assassination, Gandhiji had announced that the Congress would be dissolved,” she said.

On Saturday, Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj too would join the bandwagon by addressing over a lakh of women from across the state in a town hall.