Right after the recent riots in Karauli following the incidents of stone-pelting during a religious procession, an order issued by the state discoms have given BJP leaders a topic to accuse CM Ashok Gehlot's government of appeasement politics.
Issued by Jodhpur and Jaipur discoms, the order ensures the uninterrupted supply of electricity to Muslim-dominated parts during Ramzan. Although Jodhpur discom has revised the order after the social media backlash, Jaipur discom is still standing with the order.
Reportedly, the orders were issued on the demand of state minister Zahida Khan who in a letter to the energy minister and city discoms, had requested to ensure no power cuts in the Muslim dominated areas of Rajasthan during Ramzan.
The Jodhpur and Jaipur dismoms issued orders on almost the same lines that read 'the month of Ramzan is beginning from April 4. Do not go for shut down and ensure uninterrupted power supply in Muslim-dominated areas so that those observing Roza do not have any inconvenience.'
Reacting to the order, BJP leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje took a swipe at the Congress government in the state saying that Hindus were fasting for Navratri too during this time.
"People in the state are not only observing Ramzan… they are also observing fast for Navratri in this hot summer. The state government should answer why it is only concerned about those observing Ramzan, and why not about the rest of the people of the state? If this is not appeasement and vote politics, then what is (it)?" she tweeted.
She advised Congress to rise above religion and think about the people of Rajasthan. While the leader of the opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said such orders are only for vote bank politics and it seems that the state government is not thinking anything other than this.
Notably, the Gehlot government is facing the same kind of allegations regarding the Karauli riots as CM Gehlot had accused BJP leaders of holding rallies and raising proactive slogans in the name of religion.
In counter to this, the BJP had accused him of giving the clean chit to the culprits of riots. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat slamming Gehlot said, "CM has given the verdict one side is completely wrong and the other one is clean. Is this not promoting communal politics?"
Reacting to the statements by BJP leaders, the state secretary of Congress Jaswant Gurjar said that the BJP and RSS have started working on their hidden agenda of communal politics. "They should keep in mind that Rajasthan is not UP. The Congress will not allow RSS to succeed in its agenda," said Gurjar.
