BJP turning Rajasthan into laboratory for communal experiments, says Gehlot

Veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Friday (January 23, 2026) accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Rajasthan of turning the State into a “laboratory for communal experiments” by bringing the Bill for designating certain areas as “disturbed”. Mr. Gehlot said this would be an “utterly shameful step” in the history of the State.

Mr. Gehlot, who has served thrice as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, wondered why the desert State, whose identity was rooted in brotherhood, a sense of belonging, and the culture of ‘Padharo Mhare Des’, was now being deliberately branded as “disturbed” by the ruling BJP through the Disturbed Areas Act.

The State government has declared its intention to bring the Disturbed Areas Bill in the upcoming budget session of the Assembly. The State Cabinet approved the Bill earlier this week for addressing what it described as demographic imbalance, improper clustering of population and distress sale of land and houses.

Mr. Gehlot said Rajasthan neither faced the situation of confrontation, nor was the State’s soil fertile for hatred. “This [proposed] legislation will devalue the property of common people and work to divide societies that have lived together for centuries. The BJP government is resorting to polarisation to divert attention from its administrative failures,” he said in a post on X.

“The difference is clear: Our Congress government, promoting Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals, established the country’s first department of peace and non-violence. The BJP, upon coming to power, first shut down that department and is now imposing this law,” Mr. Gehlot said.

The former Chief Minister said the people in Rajasthan wanted peace and harmony, instead of their residential areas being labelled as “disturbed”. He said the Congress would strongly oppose the BJP’s “divisive mindset”.