I am not afraid of Sardarpura or any other seat: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (IANS Interview)

Archana Sharma
Jaipur, Oct 8 (IANS) Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been on a face-off with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot ever since he defeated Vaibhav Gehlot, the CM's son, in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 from Jodhpur, which has been Gehlot’s home turf for the last four decades.

The tussle between the Rajasthan CM and Shekhawat is an open secret now. The two leaders have engaged in war of words on many issues, of which the Sanjeevani scam has been a burning one. There are also speculation that the upcoming Assembly polls in Rajasthan might see a Gehlot vs Shekhawat contest.

Shekhawat, who has filed a defamation case against Gehlot, had said on Friday that if the CM publicly apologises for his statement, he will consider forgiving him.

The case pertains to alleged "misleading statements" made by Gehlot against Shekhawat in connection with the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam.

Gehlot had said after a budget review meeting at the state secretariat on February 21 that the entire Shekhawat family, including his parents and wife, were involved in the scam.

IANS spoke to Shekawhat on several issues, including the state government's PR agency Design Box and many more.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

IANS: There have been talks that you will be fielded from Sardarpura...

A: There is no such discussion on the party platform as of now... In fact, there has been no discussion on any MP contesting from anywhere till date. It is the party's parliamentary board that decides if an MP will contest the elections or continue working for the organisation... It is the party's prerogative, and nobody can decide on his own. However, I am not afraid of being fielded from Sardarpura or from any other seat for that matter. If the party asks me to contest from any seat, I will do so.

In fact, we have already contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections face-to-face, as Gehlot was the Chief Minister and his son was contesting against me; it was virtually him and his machinery contesting the polls against us. So we have already experienced this fight.

IANS: Gehlot has been accusing you in the Sanjeevani scam. Has it dented your image?

A: Not even 1 per cent... It’s absolute political vendetta. No one can say that Shekhawat was involved in the scam. In fact, it was Gehlot’s son who sold a hotel company’s share to a Mauritius-based man for Rs 40,000 after buying it for Rs 100. No one can say that I did anything wrong by any stretch of imagination.

IANS: Is Vasundhara Raje angry that she was missing from BJP’s Parivartan Yatra?

A: I don’t think she is angry. This is part of her nature. She came to the Parivartan Yatra at its beginning and in the end. She did not go to any other yatras in between. I would say that this is her nature. Also, she has had personal issues, her daughter-in-law is not keeping well, so she is a little disturbed.

IANS: There is speculation that the Rajput community is annoyed that Vasundhara is being sidelined?

A. Rajput voters are hardcore BJP voters, and it cannot be true that they are annoyed because of one leader. In the last elections, there were some issues due to which a few Rajput voters were silent, but they were spontaneous decisions. At that time, they were angry on many issues, such as I was not made the state BJP President, there was the Anandpal encounter, the Chhatra Singh encounter in Jaisalmer... So these issues triggered anger in the community.

See, it is the party which makes a leader and a leader gets popular because of the party. A leaders’ height is decided by the party. The Bharatiya Janata Party has a tradition of bringing about change. However, we will keep working together. It’s the top leadership which decides on such issues. I believe Vasundhara Raje is also clear and has no doubt in this context.

IANS: Fractions within the party have become a common issue across the state. What would you say?

A: Aspirations along with a few gaps are okay in politics. However, we don’t have as many differences as the Congress. See, the difference between the Congress and the BJP is that our top leadership has dominance and prominence. In Congress, the high command was challenged and despite this, Gehlot remains the CM. Is it possible in the BJP? No. Our higher leadership has strong prominence and dominance unlike the Congress.

IANS: Gehlot has been taking your name as an accused in Sanjeevani scam. Now you have filed a defamation suit against him. Any specific reason?

A: See, initially I tolerated the allegations silently. However, when he spoke about my mother who passed away a year back, I decided to file a defamation suit.

Gehlot has been in the court seven times. He now has only two options -- either he makes a public apology, or he faces punishment... He has no other way. He recently apologised in court for his 'rampant corruption in judiciary' remark. He will have to apologise in this case too.