Days after Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot sacked Rajendra Gudha as a minister in his government, the latter has refused to apologise and stand firm on his statement in which he had criticised the state government over crimes against women.
“Why will I apologize, what was my fault? I did not say anything wrong, atrocities against women are increasing in the state. I will answer in the house. We were not allowed to speak but now I am free. He asked me to apologise but I chose to fight,” Former Rajasthan Minister Rajendra Singh Gudha said while talking to the media on Monday, July 24.
#WATCH | Former Rajasthan Minister Rajendra Singh Gudha, "Why will I apologise, what was my fault. I did not say anything wrong, atrocities against women are increasing in the state. I will answer in the house. We were not allowed to speak but now I am free. He asked me to… pic.twitter.com/dOOWIVuDO7
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) July 24, 2023
The recommendation of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to remove state minister Rajendra Singh Gudha from the state cabinet was accepted by the governor of Rajasthan on Friday with immediate effect. This comes after Gudha slammed the Congress-led state government for recent crimes against women. He questioned his own government’s efforts to combat crimes against women in Rajasthan while his colleagues condemned the violence in Manipur.
Congress legislators raised placards in protest of the violence in Manipur during the consideration of the Rajasthan Minimum Income Guarantee Bill 2023 in the state Assembly, but Gudha did not appreciate the protest and wanted accountability from his own administration for atrocities committed against women.
“The way we have failed to provide security to women in Rajasthan and atrocities on women have increased, instead of raising the issue of Manipur, we should introspect,” Gudha said in the state assembly.
He also reiterated his statement on July 23 saying that “Rajasthan is number one when it comes to crime against women.”
“I just spoke on the incident where a 20-year-old girl died after her throat was slit in the area that comes under my Vidhan Sabha. And he (Ashok Gehlot) accused me that I am with the BJP now. I just said that we are talking about Manipur, but we must look at our state as well. Rajasthan is no.1 when it comes to crime against women… The way he sacked me is insulting, he should have asked me to resign,” Gudha was quoted as saying the other day.
He also said that he was undeterred and would continue to speak until his heart stopped beating. “Women in our state are not safe. Rajasthan is number one in atrocities on women, the reports confirm it. The state government has failed to provide security to women,” he added saying that he would reiterate his opinion even if Gehlot planned to throw him in jail.
However, several BJP leaders reacted to the removal of the Minister and slammed the state government for not being able to handle the truth. BJP MP, Rajyavardhan Rathore said, “A Rajasthan Minister spoke truth inside the Assembly House, he said that the state govt must look into the crimes happening in its own state instead of criticising incidents of other states since last 3 years Rajasthan is no.1 for crimes against women…and for this reason, he was removed from the state cabinet because Congress can’t tolerate truth, this truth was muffled by the state govt since a long time.”
#WATCH | A Rajasthan Minister spoke truth inside the Assembly House, he said that the state govt must look into the crimes happening in its own state instead of criticising incidents of other states, since last 3 years Rajasthan is no.1 for crimes against women…and for this… pic.twitter.com/DoZyIHYBev
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) July 21, 2023
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, a union minister and prominent BJP figure, praised the ousted leader for having the guts to speak the truth in a media interview. He added that neither women nor ministers who speak out against the crimes committed against women in Rajasthan are safe.
#WATCH | Jaipur, Rajasthan: Union Minister & BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, on the removal of Rajendra Singh Gudha from State Cabinet, says, "All my praise is with Rajendra Singh Gudha because he courageously conveyed the truth. But the Gehlot government could not accept… pic.twitter.com/h6xll6F54h
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) July 21, 2023
The leader of the opposition in the Rajasthan State Assembly, Rajendra Rathore, stated that CM Gehlot didn’t like Gudha stating what National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said, that Rajasthan is number one in terms of atrocities against women.
