Gehlot Opposes PM Modi’s Upcoming Visit to Lay Foundation Stone

In a letter to the PM, Gehlot said that Sonia Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the refinery in September 2013

Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter to PM Modi regarding his upcoming visit to Rajasthan.

(Photo Courtesy: Ashok Gehlot/Facebook)

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has opposed the upcoming foundation laying ceremony of an oil refinery in Barmer by Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that it had already been performed four years ago.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, Gehlot said that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the refinery on 22 September 2013. “The prime minister’s proposed visit on 16 January for the foundation laying ceremony is unfortunate,” Gehlot said.

Re-laying of a foundation stone was not a healthy tradition in a democratic set up where governments keep changing, he said in the letter. Gehlot added that the project was initiated by the former Congress government led by him, but that Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had stalled several projects, including the refinery, after coming to power.

The project was stalled for four years without any argument or reason and she misled people. The CM should tender an apology to the public for this.

Asked about the triple talaq bill, Gehlot said that the Congress wanted some amendments to the bill so that Muslim women were not subjected to suffering.

Speaking about Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with a Chinese delegation, the former CM stated that Rahul had given his reasons for the same and also added that the prime minister should figure out why countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka were inclining toward China.