Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in Rajasthan’s Jalore for BJP’s Lumbaram Choudhary against Congress’s Vaibhav Gehlot. At the rally, Modi appeared to criticize Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, asserting that those unable to win elections have sought seats in the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.
Sonia Gandhi was recently elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, after representing Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha for two decades. Modi questioned whether Congress MPs from Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha were addressing state issues and targeted leaders who seek upper house seats without contesting elections.
Currently, six Congress MPs represent Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha, including Sonia Gandhi. Modi claimed the people of Rajasthan had “punished” Congress in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, as twelve out of 25 seats in the state voted last Friday.
He stressed the importance of strong governance and criticized the Congress party with his “remote control” comment, suggesting that the Manmohan Singh-led government was controlled by Sonia Gandhi.
Modi also indirectly targeted Rahul Gandhi over a 2013 incident in which he publicly rejected a UPA government ordinance shielding convicted lawmakers from disqualification.
Finally, Modi highlighted the decline of the Congress party, noting their struggle to contest as many seats as before and asserting that the country does not want to revert to the pre-2014 era.
