BJP comes up with issues to provoke people before polls: Gehlot

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot stated that BJP comes up with issues to provoke people in the name of religion and caste. He accused the party of linking the voting preference of people with Hinduism and asked whether those who don't vote for the saffron party are not Hindus, PTI reported.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Haldighati Youth Festival at Nathdwara in Rajsamand district on Thursday, Gehlot said, "You (BJP) come up with one issue or the other to provoke people in the name of religion, caste. All are Hindus. Aren't we Hindus? Where is it written that the one who votes for the BJP is a Hindu?" he asked.

Gehlot appealed to the youth to determine what they want, whether it is development or an issue that provokes people.

"In a democracy, some vote for the BJP, some don't. Some vote for the Congress, some don't," he said.

"Where did they get this definition that those who do not vote (for the BJP) are not Hindus? It is not in the interest of the country," Ashok Gehlot said.

He explained that a BJP government would stop the schemes run by the current government in Rajasthan.

"I would like to tell the youth; you decide whether you want development, whether you want a vision or (not)." He also told the youth that "knowledge is power."

According to him, Rajasthan ranks first in the country in the IT sector at present.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Congress has a problem with people who chant 'Jai Bajrang Bali'. He quoted Kannada poet Kuvempu's poem hailing Lord Hanuman and chanted 'Bajrang Bali Ki Jai'.