Gehlot fires Gudha after he says look at crimes on women in state, not Manipur

During a House debate on the Rajasthan Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill in the afternoon, as Congress MLAs stormed the well over the Manipur issue and raised placards, Gudha got up and said: “In Rajasthan, it is the truth that we have failed when it comes to women safety. The manner in which crimes against women have increased in Rajasthan, we should introspect rather than (talk on) Manipur.”

VIDEO | “The situation of this (Congress) government is not good,” says Rajendra Gudha, who was sacked as minister hours after he questioned his own government on the issue of women’s safety in Rajasthan. pic.twitter.com/A1FvpJOMW3

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 21, 2023

This led to the Opposition MLAs chanting “Shame! Shame!”, and Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said: “Our Constitution says that when one minister speaks, it means the entire government is speaking. A minister has exposed the government. I would like to congratulate him.”

Later in the evening, a statement from Raj Bhawan said, “Today on July 21 evening, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recommended the expelling of minister of state Rajendra Singh Gudha. Governor Shri (Kalraj) Mishra has accepted this recommendation by Chief Minister Shri Gehlot immediately.”

Gudha held the portfolios of Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence (Independent Charge) and Panchayati Raj and Rural Development department.

On his expulsion, Gudha said, “I’m not surprised and had no expectations from them. This is the price for speaking the truth. I would only like to say that the law and order in Rajasthan is bad … the way they have lodged fake cases (against me). I will tell everything on Monday…”

“Our MLAs were protesting in the well on the Manipur issue and I don’t disagree with them. But how can what’s happening in Rajasthan be right? Aren’t we witnessing it daily?” he said.

He denied claims that he was being combative because he wanted to return to the BSP.

Considered a leader of the Sachin Pilot camp, Gudha has been speaking against the Gehlot government since mid-2022. At a Pilot rally in Jaipur this May, he had said, “Rajasthan government’s alignment has gone wrong. Our government has crossed all limits of corruption. In Karnataka, the charge was 40 per cent (commission) but our government here has gone beyond that.”

He had also levelled allegations against ministers Shanti Dhariwal, Pramod Bhaya, and state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra.