"Anti-government sentiment in Maharashtra, “says Congress observer Ashok Gehlot

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], November 1 (ANI): Ashok Gehlot, the former Chief Minister of Rajasthan and current senior Congress observer for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, is confident of a good showing by the Aghasi alliance. 

Regarding the situation with dissatisfied rebel Congress leaders in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Gehlot said, "There is already a favourable atmosphere for Congress. I was in Maharashtra recently, and there is an anti-government sentiment among the common people, which will benefit us. I hope that according to the current atmosphere, Congress and the alliance will win the elections. Regarding convincing the rebels, the process has been ongoing since the day the forms were filled. We are in constant contact with them. The last date for form withdrawals is November 4, and I expect that many rebel leaders will withdraw their forms by that date."

On the upcoming by-elections for seven seats in the Rajasthan Assembly, Gehlot mentioned, "These elections are local. Voting is done properly and elections are held based on local issues. I still feel that local problems and issues play a significant role, and these elections will be conducted accordingly. It is too early to predict what the situation will be, but everyone is committed, and Congress is united for this election."

Gehlot also underlined the importance of democratic dialogue for the One Nation, One Election initiative and expressed confidence in Congress's unity for the upcoming local elections in Rajasthan.

Gehlot also reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments on implementing the One Nation, One Election initiative and the Uniform Civil Code, saying, "Look, these are immoral people. They have no faith in democracy; otherwise, they wouldn’t act in haste. If you (the government) want to do any work, bring the bills while involving the public and opposition parties in Parliament. Just look at the farmers' movement, where 700 farmers lost their lives unnecessarily, and the government had to yield, causing the bill to be halted. So what was the benefit of that?”

The former Rajasthan CM also spoke on Rajasthan’s current Education Minister Madan Dilawar’s comment about the absence of textbooks on the Godhra incident.

In response to Education Minister Dilawar’s remarks about the lack of textbooks related to the Godhra incident during Gehlot's previous administration, the former Chief Minister stated, "I don't have any information on this matter, but you know the minister. He can say anything about anyone. The Chief Minister hasn’t commented on this. I have said that I don’t have any information, but adding or removing subjects from textbooks is not a good tradition. There should be a committee that decides which subjects to include and which to exclude, and there is indeed a committee for that." (ANI)