“I was punished for speaking the truth”: Congress minister Rajendra Singh Gudha says after being sacked for admitting failure to ensure women’s safety in Rajasthan

Rajendra Singh Gudha. Image Source: Twitter handle of ANI

Following his sacking from the post of minister in the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan, Rajendra Singh Gudha has said that he was punished for speaking the truth. On 21st July 2023, Rajasthan’s Rural Development Minister, Rajendra Singh Gudha, was dismissed by the Congress government in the state after he conceded in the state assembly that they failed to ensure women’s safety in the state.

The ex-minister emphasised that rather than pointing fingers at Manipur, the Rajasthan government should prioritise ensuring the safety of women, a responsibility it has consistently fallen short of fulfilling.

Rajendra Singh Gudha said, “I said what I thought was right. It was not a crime to say it. I say what I feel is right. When this government was in the numbers crisis, we left no stone unturned to strengthen this government. Whenever there was a crisis in the government, whenever there was any problem, we stood behind it with full force.”

He added, “I was punished for speaking the truth. Rajasthan tops in women rape cases. There is corruption in RPSC. Instead of correcting the shortcomings, the government is inactive. We were voted to power by our sisters and daughters so that we could protect their dignity. All records say that Rajasthan has reached number one in atrocities on women.”

Rajendra Singh Gudha further said, “The Manipur incident was shameful and should be condemned. All I said was that we should introspect ourselves. We will go in front of the public after four months. How are we going to face the people? I just talked about introspection and there was nothing else. I have been punished for speaking the truth.”

On Friday, during the debate on the Minimum Income Guarantee Bill in the Legislative Assembly, Gudha accused his own government of failing to ensure women’s safety.

To protest against the incident in Manipur, Congress legislators raised slogans in the assembly. At that time, Gudha said, “It is true and should be accepted that we have failed in women’s safety. Instead of Manipur, we should look within ourselves that atrocities on women have increased in Rajasthan.”

After his remarks over the abject state of women’s safety in Rajasthan, the decision to remove Rajendra Gudha was taken by the party in consultation with the high command. Gudha’s “year-long deviation” from the party’s official stance was cited as a reason for his dismissal.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia