Corruption rampant in Rajasthan, Cong treats state as ATM for party leaders from Delhi: Amit Shah

Corruption is rampant in Rajasthan under the Congress rule as the party treats the state as ATM where its leaders from Delhi swipe a card to withdraw money, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday, launching a scathing attack on the Ashok Gehlot dispensation over a range of issues.

Addressing a public meeting at Vijay Nagar of Ajmer in the poll-bound state, he said the Congress crossed all limits of appeasement politics for keeping its vote bank.

The state ranks number one in terms of corruption, appeasement, rape and other crimes against women, cybercrime and inflation index, he said, adding electricity rates and petrol and diesel prices are also high in Rajasthan.

''The Gehlot government ran an ATM to swipe a card and withdraw money. The Congress party turned Rajasthan into an ATM where its leaders from Delhi swiped the card to withdraw money. Such a government should be ousted,'' Shah said.

Attacking the state government further, he said, ''The Gehlot government has crossed all limits in Rajasthan for vote bank politics. Kanhaiya Lal was murdered in broad daylight in Udaipur, but not a single word came out of their mouth. They have made Rajasthan a state of riots.'' Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, was hacked to death last year at his shop in the busy Hathipole area of Udaipur by two cleaver-wielding men for allegedly supporting a social media post against Islam, an incident that sent shockwaves across the country.

The state goes to polls on November 25 and the results will be announced on December 3.

If the Congress comes back to power, Shah said, organisations liked the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) will get a free hand and Rajasthan will never be safe.

''When you cast your votes in the upcoming elections, do not think that you are just going to make someone an MLA. Rather, your single vote is to form a double engine government under the leadership of Narendra Modi ji.'' He also alleged rampant corruption in Rajasthan under the Gehlot government. ''In Rajasthan, Gehlot has done more corruption in five years than any government since Independence would have done.'' There was a Rs 66,000-crore mining scam, a scam of Rs 1,000 crore in giving out leases, and also there was a Rs 1000-crore ration scam among others, he alleged.

He also attacked former Congress president Sonia Gandhi saying she wants to ''launch'' her son Rahul Gandhi while Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wants to launch his son Vaibhav Gehlot. ''But the launches have failed.'' Highlighting the achievements of the Modi government, he said it worked to protect the nation, revoked article 370 and banned the PFI. He said PFI members could not come out anywhere in the country but in Rajasthan's Kota, they took out a rally. Attacking the chief minister over the 'red diary' issue, he claimed the accounts of thousands of crores of scams are there in it. Sacked Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha had claimed that he possessed a 'red diary' which contains the alleged details of illegal financial transactions of chief minister Gehlot. Shah said the Ashok Gehlot government has made life horrible for the people of Rajasthan. He also said that the Congress is a dynastic party. The Ashok Gehlot government operated from resorts, he said. ''The people who cannot save their own government, can they protect our borders?'' he said, referring to the political crisis in the state in 2020 following the rebellion by then deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.

Gehlot has been repeatedly alleging the BJP had attempted to topple his government in 2020 due to which the MLAs of the Gehlot camp had stayed in hotels.

Later, Shah addressed another rally in Nasirabad and conducted a roadshow in Ajmer. Party candidates and leaders were also present in the rallies and the roadshow.