"Congress lost its base, cameras have been installed since Vidhan Sabha was built": Rajasthan BJP Chief Madan Rathore

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], September 13 (ANI): BJP Rajasthan president Madan Rathore on Saturday downplayed Opposition criticism over the installation of additional CCTV cameras in the state Assembly, saying the practice was routine and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot's objection was misplaced.
Speaking to ANI, Rathore took a jibe at the opposition, saying that they have "lost" their footing.
The BJP State President said, "Congress has lost its base. They do not have any issue to oppose. The first thing is that the Speaker is the guardian of both the ruling party and the opposition. Cameras have been installed since the Vidhan Sabha was built. Cameras sometimes get damaged and are also replaced. All this happens."
Taking a dig at Gehlot, Rathore said a senior leader should not raise such objections. "Now I don't understand why a three-time Chief Minister like Gehlot sahab is saying all these things," he added.
The reaction comes after Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday raised objections to the installation of additional CCTV cameras inside the state Assembly, alleging they were intended to monitor Opposition legislators.
Hitting out at the ruling BJP dispensation, Ashok Gehlot slammed the current state of affairs, saying that people are still not getting employment and bluntly asking, "Where is the investment coming from?"
He objected to the installation of "additional cameras" in the Rajasthan Assembly, alleging they were meant to record private conversations of members and demanded an inquiry, calling the move "wrong."
"Cameras are installed in Parliament and the House too; no one has any objection to that, but the additional cameras that have been installed in the Rajasthan House. Through which you want to record what the opposition members are talking about among themselves. This is wrong...there should be an investigation into this," The former Rajasthan CM said.
Meanwhile, Rajsthan's Minister of State of Home & Animal Husbandry Department, Jawahar Singh Bedham, on Thursday responded to Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully's allegation of installing a camera in the legislative assembly.
Speaking to reporters, Bedham, while denying the allegations, said that they are not spying on Congress MLAs. He further emphasised that the cameras are installed in the legislative assembly rooms for security purposes.
Further, the Rajasthan Minister also took a jab at the previous tenure of Ashok Gehlot, accusing the latter of investigating his own MPs and MLAs.
Earlier on Wednesday, Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Tika Ram Jully, accused Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma of "spying" on Opposition members by installing hidden cameras inside the assembly.
Speaking to reporters, LoP Jully said that Chief Minister Bhajanlal lal Sharma has installed the camera to spy on the conversations of the members of the opposition.
"In the Legislative Assembly session, CM Bhajanlal Sharma said that he knows what all the MLAs are up to. He also told the ministers that their drivers are spying on them...He has installed hidden cameras in the house to spy on the conversations of the members of the opposition," LoP Jully told reporters. (ANI)