A section of the BJP blamed chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his Congress party for poor rains. A war of words kicked off between Mr Gehlot and the Opposition BJP when allegedly thousands of SMSes were sent out saying Rajasthan received good rains only in Mr Gehlot’s absence from the state. The SMS campaign started first when Mr Gehlot left for America on 20 June. The messages said: When Gehlot left for US, the state received rains.
The messages specifically mentioned three dates when Mr Gehlot was out of the state.
The second set of messages said whenever Mr Gehlot comes into power, the state got scanty rains. The campaign however, bounced back when monsoon rains reached Rajasthan. Taking a dig at BJP leaders Mr Gehlot said, “Look at these leaders, they are praying for scanty rains without keeping in mind people’s hardship.”
“It is people’s prayers that resulted in good rains. Now, those who spread rumours and engage in false propaganda should search their soul the mask removed from their real faces,” says Mr Gehlot.
The CM said, “Afvahen failana inka kaam hai, main America gaya to kaha pichhe se barish aa gai, lekin jab wo [Vasundhara Raje] London aur Paris gaye,hamne nahi kaha ki unke bahar jate hi barish ho gai. [They are skilled in spreading rum-ours, when I was in America, they spread rumours like this but when she visited London and Paris, we never said that in her absence the state got good rains].
The Congress countered the campaign by circulating its own SMSes. The messages targeted Ms Raje and recalled incidents of police firing and sale of liquor during the previous BJP regime.