Newly elected Congress chief rubber stamp: Rajyavardhan Rathore

Jaipur: BJP leader Rajyavardhan Rathore on Wednesday called newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge a "rubber stamp" and alleged that the party’s internal polls to its chief were a "fraud".

Reacting to allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the polls in Uttar Pradesh, the Jaipur Rural MP said when the party cannot conduct internal polls between two people properly, then "how can it deal with elections at the national level".

Kharge won the polls for the post of the Congress president, the results of which were announced on Wednesday. He was pitted against party leader Shashi Tharoor.

"A strong opposition is required for a strong democracy. After a long period of time, the Congress party is looking away from one family but still it has searched a rubber stamp. Their internal election is just a fraud and drama," he said.

He also targeted Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government, alleging poor law and order.

Rathore claimed that it is only concerned about collecting information about its MLAs, apparently referring to differences in the party.

"The state government is only concerned about political intelligence. Police and intelligence departments are given orders for political intelligence. They are given orders to collect information about which MLA is meeting whom, which minister is sitting with whom in the evening," he alleged.

"When police are engaged in such works, then how can they protect the general public," he said.

Rathore said criminals from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are finding Rajasthan a safe haven.

"Criminals are facing action in UP and Haryana and they know that there is no rule of law in Rajasthan and the chief minister has no time, so they are moving to Rajasthan," he claimed.

Rathore warned that stern action against such criminals will be taken after the BJP comes to power in the state.