'I Removed Sonia Gandhi's Photo, Not Gandhi's'

'It was my first day in office, so you cannot blame me for the missing photos.'

'I had to join the office and sit on the chair at a particular mahurat time.'

Rajasthan Minister Avinash Gehlot landed in controversy after he tweeted a picture while taking charge of his office on Monday, January 1, 2024.

In the background of his tweeted picture, Mahatma Gandhi and Babasaheb Ambedkar are missing; visible are Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and his successor as the RSS sarsanghchalak, Madhav Sadashiv 'Guru' Golwalkar.

The Congress party retweeted Gehlot's picture and said the Rajasthan minister is disrespecting the Father of the Nation and the Father of the Constitution.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com asked Avinash Gehlot -- who was elected to the Rajasthan assembly last month as the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Jaitaran in Pali district -- about why Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar's photographs are missing from his office.

You replaced Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar's photos with Dr Hedgewar and Guru Golwalkar. Why?

I went to my allocated office as a minister yesterday (January 1, 2024) for the first time. I had no idea whose photo was there and whose photo was not there on the wall.

My office is being set up. It was my first day in office, so you cannot blame me for the missing photos.

So what are you planning to do about the missing photos of national icons like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar?

I am not only putting their pictures in my office, but also putting pictures of other leaders like Sardar Patel, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and A P J Abdul Kalam too.

The photo frames of these great men were also missing from my cabin. I have ordered to install their photos too.

The media must understand that it was my first day in office. I had no idea what office I was going into.

You just wait for a day. I will put the photos of these great men who contributed in our nation building.

Didn't you notice Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar's photos missing in your cabin?

I had to join the office and sit on the chair at a particular mahurat time given to me (by astrologers).

This is an unnecessary controversy being created by Opposition members. I will put all the photos by the end of the day.

Before you, this cabin was allotted to a Congress minister. I am certain that there must have been photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar in the Congress minister's office.
So were their photos removed by your staff?

I removed the photo of Sonia Gandhi, not Mahatma Gandhi. There was no photo of Mahatma Gandhi in my cabin when I joined office on the first day.

Yes, there were other photo frames, but they were of Ashok Gehlot and Rahul Gandhi.

It is obvious I will not keep their photos in my cabin as they are our political opponents.

Moreover, you must remember I cannot get the photo frames of leaders in one day.

One has to make it in size and frame to fit the walls of the office. I have ordered them and will get it by the evening.

So are you saying that this cabin, that was allotted to you and was earlier a Congress minister's office, did not have photos of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar?

I have no idea about their photos because I did not see them when I joined the office.

When you tweeted your photo, did it not strike you that the photos of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar were missing in your picture?

There was a huge rush when I entered the office because it was my first day. Lots of people had come to congratulate me and I just tweeted the picture.

Later I got a call from a journalist who told me that Congress leaders are highlighting the fact that I have removed Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's photos from my cabin.

I told him this is a wrong allegation against me.

I ordered photo frames of them immediately which will come to my office by this evening or probably earlier.

It takes time to set up an office. Nobody can set up office in one day. You take at least three days to set up office.

There is lot of work to do in the office right from tables, chairs to plumbing work in the bathroom.

It takes time, so the accusation against me that I have removed the photographs of these great leaders is wrong because those photos were never there in my office.

Whose photos have you ordered?

I have ordered photos of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Sardar Patel and A P J Abdul Kalam.

The Congress never acknowledged A P J Abdul Kalam's greatness; no minister kept his photo in their cabin. I am putting his photo in my office by the evening.

How come you had pictures of Dr Hedgewar and Guru Golwalkar and not Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar?

The photos of Dr Hedgewar and Guru Golwalkar were at my home. Their photos are at my zilla office too, permanently.

What is their contribution to nation building? It is said they did not contribute to India's freedom movement, why then did you feel it was important to display their photos?

It does not matter (to me) what people say about these great leaders. They are our margdarshak (guide) who contributed a great deal in nation building.

We (BJP members) follow their ideology. Our identity is Bharatiyta. Sangh is in our blood. Sangh is the identity of Bharatiyta.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com