Jaipur, Nov 18 (PTI) Union minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday hit back at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for targeting the BJP over atrocities on Dalits.

Thakur's remarks came shortly after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim of working for Dalits, saying the BJP fielded an MLA who was refused a Congress ticket for the Rajasthan Assembly polls for allegedly thrashing a Dalit engineer.

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He said the Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi had given the slogan 'Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon' but she did not come to Rajasthan on incidents of crime against women.

Where was Kharge when crimes against women and Dalits were happening in Rajasthan, he questioned.

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Kharge's remarks came after Modi targeted the Congress government in Rajasthan over alleged atrocities against women and Dalits during a poll rally in Bharatpur.

"Modi, who says he is a messiah of Dalits, and keeps crying, saying 'I am poor and keep fighting for them', gave a ticket to Girraj Malinga, who was refused a ticket by us for thrashing Valmiki," Kharge said.

Terming the Congress government in Rajasthan as 'Gehloot' government, Thakur said, “In the past 5 years, the "Gehloot Government" has been involved in rampant corruption and it neglected crucial issues. From crimes against women to attacks on Scheduled Castes people, the state witnessed unchecked looting of resources.”

“Promises made by the Congress leaders remained unfulfilled, leaving farmers burdened with debt and women without the promised support. The Congress party's assurances, seen in Himachal and Karnataka, have proven hollow,” he said at the BJP media centre here.

He said that the people of the state were disillusioned by the Gehlot government and questioned the authenticity of the guarantees given by them.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)