With relief and rescue operations in full swing, the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP have engaged in a war of words in Rajasthan over the pilgrims stranded in Uttarakhand. The BJP blamed the Congress government for poor management while chief minister Ashok Gehlot questioned former chief minister Vasundhara Raje for not visiting Uttarakhand. “Ms Raje used to visit Dehradun often, why did she not go there when people needs her help,” asks Mr Gehlot.
The tragedy struck in Uttarkhand when both the parties were busy with their respective “Rath Yatras” to woo voters for the upcoming Assembly elections. The devastation put a spanner on the Congress’ “Sandesh Yatra” and the BJP’s “Suraj Yatra” as both have been forced to postponed them for a week or so. BJP president Raje lashed out at Mr Gehlot and said the state government was not serious to rescue the pilgrims from the state. “The government has not been able to publish a list of the missing people,” she said. BJP leaders led by Ms Raje took to the streets to collect money for the victims. State Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria walked in the streets of Udaipur to collect donations while Ms Raje paid a visit to the walled city of Jaipur for the collections. The CM termed the saffron leaders exercise as a drama. “She did not visit Uttarakhand. What we heard that she has a farmhouse there, she should provide it for the people from our state,” Mr Gehlot said.
The BJP leaders refused to comment on Mr Gehlot’s remarks and said they were busy helping the affected families.