Rajasthan: BJP zeroes in on law and order as Gehlot’s Achilles’ Heel

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot is facing criticism on law and order failures not just from the opposition but also from within.

Barely a week after the BJP began its “Nahi Sahega Rajasthan” campaign to target the Congress in the election-bound state, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sacked his maverick minister Rajendra Gudha. Known as a loudmouth who often makes outrageous comments, Gudha finally crossed all limits by speaking against the Gehlot government inside the Assembly - and that too on a sensitive subject like crimes against women amid a national outrage over the Manipur horror.

Many are surprised that the usually mild-mannered Gehlot took such swift and strong action over Gudha’s remarks last Friday. Some point out the Chief Minister had turned a blind eye to Gudha's more offensive remarks in the past. Since last year when he switched loyalties towards Sachin Pilot, Gudha has been sniping at Gehlot. Last October, he accused Gehlot of excessive centralisation of power whereby even transfers of constables had to be cleared from the CM’s office. In May this year, he asserted that corruption in Rajasthan has “crossed all limits” and is “worse than Karnataka”.

Gudha’s comment on Friday, however, was unacceptable to Gehlot and the Congress for two key reasons. First, in his choice of the legislative assembly to embarrass the government, Gudha violated the “collective responsibility” principle. Secondly, his remarks were in sync with BJP attacks on the Gehlot regime over rising women atrocities and poor handling of law and order. Many claim that Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore fuelled Gudha's behavior in the assembly and he even thanked the minister for his remarks in the house.

BJP On The Offensive

For the BJP, this incident has handed it a great chance to shift the national discourse away from the Manipur tragedy by focusing on Rajasthan's law and order situation. BJP leaders from Union ministers like Gajendra Shekhawat and Anurag Thakur, to ex-ministers like Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajyavardhan Rathore to former CM Vasundhara Raje are wasting no time in attacking Gehlot's government on the issue. Countless BJP leaders are now using the Gudha saga to claim that he was sacked for “speaking the truth” about Rajasthan.

Beyond the desire to deflect national attention from Manipur, this heated debate helps the BJP use law and order as a key ploy to attack the Gehlot government. In the recent launch of “Nahi Sahega Rajasthan” campaign, BJP President JP Nadda released a video which has a special focus on the collapsing law and order, rising crimes against women, and communal riots to underline flaws of the Gehlot dispensation.

In Rajasthan rallies, Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah have often slammed the condition of law and order under Gehlot by specially citing the horrific Kanhaiya Lal beheading in Udaipur last year and the acquittal of all accused in the 2008 Jaipur blasts case this year. In recent weeks, a string of sensational crimes in Gehlot’s hometown of Jodhpur have given more teeth to the BJP onslaught and helps the party build a narrative of collapsing law and order hardly four months before Rajasthan votes.

Gehlot’s ‘Asmita’ Counter

To combat this massive narrative, CM Gehlot has hit out at PM Modi and claimed that Rajasthan's situation is not even remotely comparable to Manipur. While calling Gudha’s sacking an “internal matter” of the Congress, Gehlot blamed the PM of neglecting and not even visiting Manipur while making countless trips to poll-bound states like Karnataka and  Rajasthan.

He argues that sporadic crimes in Rajasthan on which prompt action was taken can’t be compared to violence-torn Manipur.

Significantly, Gehlot also termed the PM’s remarks as an assault on the “self-respect of Rajasthan” – a clear learning from Gujarat where Modi as CM turned every criticism into an attack on “Gujarati Asmita”. Going forward, Gehlot may well build on this “Rajasthani honour” theme as BJP sharpens attacks on law and order in the elections.

Welfare Vs Safety

The Congress also hopes that Gudha’s sacking and expulsion will curb indiscipline in party ranks ahead of elections. In a Congress meet in Delhi on July 6, Rajasthan leaders were warned not to speak outside party forums which has meant that Pilot has gone on silent mode for now. Gudha’s dismissal sends out a strong message that indiscipline won’t be tolerated anymore.

As the national furore over Manipur rages on, Gehlot is facing criticism on law and order failures not just from the opposition but also from within. Young woman MLA Divya Maderna has said she herself feels unsafe. Even Congress President Kharge’s reported comment at the recent Delhi meet about perpetrators of Dalit atrocities getting away lightly in the state may now be a worry. Also, Gudha remains defiant and claims that Gehlot asked him to retrieve a “red diary” of his close aide in an IT raid in 2020, which would have greatly embarrassed the Chief Minister.

Till now, the BJP efforts to rake up law and order as a major issue were hardly effective in Rajasthan. Amid the big buzz over Gehlot’s welfare schemes, BJP was struggling to identify issues that would put the state Congress in the dock. But the Gudha imbroglio and the hot debate over the law-and-order situation may now have given the saffron brigade a powerful theme for the Rajasthan poll battle.

Rajan Mahan is a journalist who headed NDTV and Star News in Rajasthan. He was also a Professor of Journalism at the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.