What message Modi wants to deliver by his 'Kedarnath meditation'? Gehlot mocks PM

Congress leader and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meditating in Kedarnath, wondering what message he wants to give now. After Modi offered prayers at the Himalayan shrine in Uttarakhand, he went inside a cave nearby to meditate. Television channels showed his photographs in which he was wearing a saffron shawl.

"Today he is sitting in a cave wearing 'bhagwa' (saffron). God knows, what message he wants to deliver. Everybody has been watching him," said Gehlot, who also accused the prime minister of doing "nothing but polarisation". On Sunday, Modi is expected in Badrinath, another temple in Uttarakhand's 'char dham' religious circuit.

Gehlot criticised Modi for his "silence" on employment, farmers problems, economy and foreign policy and instead raising issues like religion and nationalism. Commenting on the press conference by Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah Friday, Gehlot told reporters here they did not address the media in the past five years but suddenly came before reporters now.

"See their face and body language during the press conference. The country has seen the message they gave. (Congress president) Rahul Gandhi had challenged them to debate but they backed off. "Why they stayed away from talking about issues? What they did in five years? What was their vision? They talked (only) about their campaigning and strategy," Gehlot said.

Gehlot alleged that both Modi and Shah became a "laughing stock" as everybody was struggling to find the purpose of their press conference. They appeared as as tired army commanders and Modi is losing the election "for sure", the Rajasthan chief minister claimed.

While PM Modi did not take questions from reporters during the press conference, saying the press conference was called by BJP, Shah gave a detailed report card on the performance of the NDA government and his party's extensive electioneering.