JAIPUR: In an unusual display of political bonhomie, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday praised Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, terming him one of the most senior leaders in the country. The occasion too appeared unusual: a rally in the tribal hub of Mangarh in Rajasthan’s Banswara district where the PM was accompanied by Gehlot and his Gujarat and MP counterparts Bhupendra Patel and Shivraj Singh Chouhan respectively.
Gehlot responded by not gushing about Modi, yet said: “PM Modi gets a lot of respect in the world mainly because of Mahatma Gandhi. Today, even after 70 years of independence, democracy prevails in Gandhi’s India. This is the reason why Narendra Modi gets respect when he goes abroad as the Prime Minister of India.”
However, Modi was unsparing in his tirade against the Congress, which he said ignored the tribal society and did not give them a proper place in history. He said India’s past, present and future are not complete without tribal society.
Since his programme was official, Modi was joined by the CMs as well as Gujarat Governor Mangu Bhai Patel. It was for the first time that PM Modi and CM Gehlot appeared together on a public platform. “As CMs we worked together. Ashok Gehlot was the senior-most in our tribe and even today he is the senior-most CM among those who are sitting on the stage,” said Modi.
The PM addressed a huge gathering at Mangarh Dham, 80 km from Banswara district. Modi said he was fortunate that he had the chance to revisit Mangarh Dham and bow to the martyred tribals. In Mangarh, tribal saint Govind Guru had started a movement against the British. On November 17, 1913, British soldiers opened fire on a tribal gathering killing hundreds of tribals.
Gehlot said his government has appealed to the PM to make Mangarh Dham a national monument. Though it was not announced at the rally, the Central government later issued a statement saying that PM Modi has declared Mangarh Dham as a national monument. The borders of Mangarh hills touch Gujarat and Rajasthan. The MP border, too, is close. Mangarh thus lies at the tri-junction of three states. Polls are due in one year in the three states and the event was seen as an attempt to woo tribal votes.
PM accuses Cong of ignoring tribals
PM Modi was unsparing in his tirade against the Congress, which he said ignored the tribal society and did not give them a proper place in history. The PM said the country’s past, present and future are
not complete without the tribal society.