Jaipur: Hours after Rajendra Gudha, the Minister of State for Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence, Panchayati Raj, and Rural Development raised questions on the safety of women and the law and order situation in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot dismissed Rajendra Gudha. Gudha raised the questions when his colleagues were protesting against Manipur violence in the assembly.
The situation came up during a discussion on the Rajasthan Minimum Income Guaranteed Bill, 2023, where Congress MLAs staged a protest, waving placards to draw attention to the Manipur violence. However, Gudha was displeased with this display and instead sought accountability from his own government regarding crimes against women in Rajasthan. He expressed concern about the increasing atrocities on women and suggested that introspection was needed more than highlighting the Manipur incident.
"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 assembly. His statement was quickly seized upon by Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, who condemned the state government's performance, claiming that Rajasthan ranked highest in crimes against women.
As the debate escalated, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal countered the accusations by presenting statistics indicating that the highest number of atrocities against women occurred during the BJP's rule. This exchange of allegations further heightened tensions within the assembly.
Following these events, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who also holds the position of Home Minister, received approval from the Congress high command and decided to remove Gudha from his ministerial post. Gehlot then recommended to Governor Kalraj Mishra that Gudha be dismissed, and the governor promptly accepted the recommendation.
In the aftermath of his sacking, Rajendra Gudha spoke to reporters, claiming that he had been punished for speaking the truth "Rajasthan is at number one position in crimes against women. What did I say? I got the punishment for speaking the truth," he said.
The political turmoil in Rajasthan over law and order issues resonated beyond the state's borders. In the Parliament, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha experienced disruptions for two consecutive days as opposition MPs staged vociferous protests against the Manipur violence. The Monsoon session, which had commenced on Thursday, was overshadowed by this ongoing unrest.
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Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also weighed in on the matter, condemning Rajasthan's state of affairs. He held a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, where he stated that Rajasthan had become a "completely failed state" due to the high number of rape cases being registered daily. Shekhawat cited media reports indicating that 17 to 18 rape cases and 5 to 7 murder cases were being registered in the state every day. He also accused Rajasthan of topping the charts in crimes against women, crimes against children, and atrocities on Dalits.
