In what could rile up the Congress leadership, Rajasthan chief minister and senior party leader Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he gets respect globally because he leads a country that has “deep roots in democracy”.
Speaking at a public event at Mangarh Dham in Rajasthan’s Banswara which was also attended by Prime Minister Modi Gehlot said, “When Modi goes abroad, he gets so much respect. He gets the respect because he is the prime minister of the country of Gandhi, where the roots of democracy run deep and where, even after more than 70 years of independence, democracy is alive.”
At the function, PM Modi declared Mangarh Dham as a national monument in the presence of chief ministers of three states – Bhupendra Patel of Gujarat and Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh besides Gehlot.
The dham, located in Banswara, on the Rajasthan-Gujarat border, is a memorial for around 1,500 tribals massacred by the British army in 1913.
Addressing the event, the Prime Minister too lauded Gehlot and called him one of the senior-most CMs.
“As a CM, Ashok ji and I used to work together. Ashok ji was senior-most among the group of chief ministers. He is still one of the senior-most CMs.” he said.
The mutual appreciation between the two comes at a time the Congress has been launching barrage of attacks at the PM Modi and his BJP-led government over the recent bridge collapse incident in Gujarat’s Morbi that claimed lives of over 130 people.
