BJP vice president Vasundhara Raje on Saturday condoled the demise of seer Vijay Das and blamed the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan.
While speaking to the media, the politician claimed that illegal mining in the Braj area started once again after the grand old party came into power, though it was stopped when she was the Chief Minister in 2005.
Raje said, "He wouldn't have died today if the state administration had followed the advice of the seers and acted sooner than 551 days. On January 27, 2005, our administration put an end to the illicit mining taking place in the Braj region at the request of the seers."
"However, illicit mining in the Braj region, which is connected to faith, was restarted by this Congress-led government. There can be no greater anarchy than this in a society where the seers must launch an uprising to forward requests for the wellbeing of the people and put themselves in danger," she added.
The saffron party leader said that the CM Gehlot himself admitted that he was 'helpless' and accepted that they were not able to stop the illegal mining.
She continued, "If anyone is to blame, it is the state government under Gehlot. I believe that a high-level investigation ought to be started. The accused, which include politicians and officials, conducted discussions with the seers in an effort to comprehend the issue. Maybe this wouldn't have occurred. Due to this, the incident should be investigated, and those responsible should face the harshest penalties. "
Rajasthan BJP head Satish Poonia, taking to Twitter, also opined, "While protecting nature, a saint went like this, was it the duty of the state government? The government is for defense, but it is in the protection of someone else. No CM has had such a loose hold on Officer Shahi in the history of the Rajasthan government till date."
Seer succumbs to his injuries
Baba Vijaydas Maharaj of Braj, who set himself ablaze protesting against illegal mining on Adibadri and Kankanchal mountains in the Deeg town of Rajasthan's Bharatpur, succumbed to his injuries on Friday night at a hospital in Delhi.
Das was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi on Thursday in a critical condition with 80 per cent burns.
