Rajasthan
‘Modi should have dismissed our govt if we sympathised with terrorists’ | Jaipur News
Finding time from busy schedules packed with daylong election campaigning across Rajasthan three days before the polling, chief minister Ashok Gehlot sat down for an exclusive chat at his official residence early on Wednesday. The 72-year-old Congressman who is eyeing a fourth term as the Rajasthan CM, exuded confidence about bucking the state’s trend of a power shift every five years.Speaking to TOI’s Kunal Majumder and Bhanu Pratap Singh, Gehlot hit out hard against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and challenged him to debate theCongress government’s schemes and performance, instead of spreading falsehood. Excerpts:
– You have given many guarantees, including relief from inflation to the people of Rajasthan, and launched a Guarantee Yatra also. How much guarantee do you feel about your government getting repeated?
There is full guarantee of our government getting repeated. If the government in Kerala can be repeated just because of the good works done during the Corona (pandemic), why cannot be ours when we have done good work even before and after that duration. We had the Bhilwara model to fight Corona. Then we passed great laws one after the other.
Our schemes, guarantees as well as the government’s performance are historic, be it in the fields of education, health, roads, water, electricity and social security. We are giving pension to 1 crore people after raising the amount from Rs 500 to Rs 1000; so all are happy. There is OPS (old pension scheme) for state government employees. Health insurance is going to increase from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. We have not left anything wanting.
– Has inflation become a big issue in Rajasthan elections? Earlier you talked about giving a cooking gas cylinder for Rs 500, then BJP promised it for Rs 450, and now your party manifesto promises it for Rs 400. On the other hand, PM Narendra Modi said that petrol and diesel are the costliest in Rajasthan and the fuel prices would be reviewed once BJP comes to power. What is your reaction?
He is telling a lie; it is the costliest in Madhya Pradesh (MP). We compare our fuel prices with that in MP because the two states’ profiles are similar, while he is comparing it with Haryana and Punjab where the economic conditions are different.
The ratio (of excise duty and VAT) has remained the same here for the last 20 years, be it the BJP or the Congress government. So, why did they not correct it when the BJP was in power here? We have done the entire calculations and kept what is in the interest of our state, whereas they (central government) are looting. And how? They have ended states’ share in excise duty, which was a basic thing. Additional excise duty, special excise duty and cess in which the states get no share have been imposed. They have been collecting all this money and plundering the country ever since they came to power. The common man does not understand these matters, so they are taking advantage of it. We have given a relief of Rs 7,500 crore in Rajasthan. Once we reduced VAT a year before the Centre did. We are sensitive, so we took the initiative realising that it is the people who suffer when prices of petrol and diesel increase.
– Congress manifesto promises 4 lakh government and 6 lakh non-government jobs. How will you deliver so many government jobs when there have been many incidents of paper leaks in the last four-five years due to which there is a lot of resentment among the youth?
Paper leaks have happened everywhere in the country like in MP, Gujarat, UP and even in recruitment exams for Army and Rajasthan high court, but action against it has been taken only in Rajasthan. We have put 200 people in prisons, investigations are going on against them, their buildings have been razed by bulldozers and a strict law has been passed that entails life imprisonment for the guilty. There is no such law anywhere else in the country.
After we passed this law, there has been no incident of paper leak in Rajasthan. The action that we have taken has not happened anywhere else. The PM should go to the root of it and find out how the paper leak gangs came into existence; that is the main issue. We also realise how disappointed the youth feel when paper leaks occur. That is why we took personal interest in arranging facilities for the candidates, like free travel in roadways and private buses, lodging and food; the youth know this all.
–BJP is attacking your government over women’s safety issue in its election campaign. Minister Shanti Dhariwal’s statement of “mardon ka pradesh” is being repeated in every meeting. What do you have to say?
As I said, these are their (BJP leaders) catchphrases and they have nothing concrete to say. So are indulging in such tactics. They have become defensive. Cannot you see, the PM, Union home minister, five CMs and five central ministers, all are coming here and speaking in the same clamour. I challenge them to debate on our schemes, laws, guarantees, government’s performance and tell us our weaknesses. But this they will not do. They will just make an issue out of a non-issue. They are delivering inciting speeches to win elections.
– PM Narendra Modi said that the Congress government in Rajasthan sympathises with terrorists. What is your reaction?
He should have then dismissed our government. And why just our government, if any government in the country sympathises with the terrorists, it should immediately be dismissed by the Centre. If we have really sympathised with the terrorists, what bigger crime can there be? So, why are they not dismissing our government? The PM has levelled such a big charge against us without giving any thought. This shows they (BJP leaders) are freaked out. He (PM) does not know what he is saying and what he should be saying.
– Has religion become a big issue for the people these days?Do you think BJP is winning elections by polarising people on the basis of religion? How do you see it?
They (BJP leaders) have no other issue. We do not care for that (polarisation). We are contesting the election purely on our schemes and performance.
– The BJP manifesto promises to increase the Kisan Samman Nidhi to Rs 12,000. It also says that during Congress rule, the agricultural land of 19,400 farmers was confiscated, so it will bring a compensation policy for the auctioned land of farmers. How do you respond to that? From where did they get this figure from? They are experts in telling lies. All their ads are a bundle of lies. They have nothing to say, so they are misleading the people. We have our schemes, our guarantees and our laws. We have passed a law to ensure that farmers’ agricultural lands cannot be confiscated. We have an Act to guarantee minimum income. Does the right to health Act exist anywhere else in India? Probably not even in the entire world. We have passed the gig workers Act and have implemented the urban employment guarantee law. We have a lot to show, whereas they have nothing.
-How will the caste survey be implemented in Rajasthan if the Congress government gets repeated?
We have already passed the order. We will do it the way Bihar has done. We would like to know what the economic condition of different castes is. There was a socio-economic survey done during the UPA government’s tenure and we would like to do it in the same style and take (policy) decisions on that basis.
– You have given many guarantees, including relief from inflation to the people of Rajasthan, and launched a Guarantee Yatra also. How much guarantee do you feel about your government getting repeated?
There is full guarantee of our government getting repeated. If the government in Kerala can be repeated just because of the good works done during the Corona (pandemic), why cannot be ours when we have done good work even before and after that duration. We had the Bhilwara model to fight Corona. Then we passed great laws one after the other.
Our schemes, guarantees as well as the government’s performance are historic, be it in the fields of education, health, roads, water, electricity and social security. We are giving pension to 1 crore people after raising the amount from Rs 500 to Rs 1000; so all are happy. There is OPS (old pension scheme) for state government employees. Health insurance is going to increase from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. We have not left anything wanting.
– Has inflation become a big issue in Rajasthan elections? Earlier you talked about giving a cooking gas cylinder for Rs 500, then BJP promised it for Rs 450, and now your party manifesto promises it for Rs 400. On the other hand, PM Narendra Modi said that petrol and diesel are the costliest in Rajasthan and the fuel prices would be reviewed once BJP comes to power. What is your reaction?
He is telling a lie; it is the costliest in Madhya Pradesh (MP). We compare our fuel prices with that in MP because the two states’ profiles are similar, while he is comparing it with Haryana and Punjab where the economic conditions are different.
The ratio (of excise duty and VAT) has remained the same here for the last 20 years, be it the BJP or the Congress government. So, why did they not correct it when the BJP was in power here? We have done the entire calculations and kept what is in the interest of our state, whereas they (central government) are looting. And how? They have ended states’ share in excise duty, which was a basic thing. Additional excise duty, special excise duty and cess in which the states get no share have been imposed. They have been collecting all this money and plundering the country ever since they came to power. The common man does not understand these matters, so they are taking advantage of it. We have given a relief of Rs 7,500 crore in Rajasthan. Once we reduced VAT a year before the Centre did. We are sensitive, so we took the initiative realising that it is the people who suffer when prices of petrol and diesel increase.
– Congress manifesto promises 4 lakh government and 6 lakh non-government jobs. How will you deliver so many government jobs when there have been many incidents of paper leaks in the last four-five years due to which there is a lot of resentment among the youth?
Paper leaks have happened everywhere in the country like in MP, Gujarat, UP and even in recruitment exams for Army and Rajasthan high court, but action against it has been taken only in Rajasthan. We have put 200 people in prisons, investigations are going on against them, their buildings have been razed by bulldozers and a strict law has been passed that entails life imprisonment for the guilty. There is no such law anywhere else in the country.
After we passed this law, there has been no incident of paper leak in Rajasthan. The action that we have taken has not happened anywhere else. The PM should go to the root of it and find out how the paper leak gangs came into existence; that is the main issue. We also realise how disappointed the youth feel when paper leaks occur. That is why we took personal interest in arranging facilities for the candidates, like free travel in roadways and private buses, lodging and food; the youth know this all.
–BJP is attacking your government over women’s safety issue in its election campaign. Minister Shanti Dhariwal’s statement of “mardon ka pradesh” is being repeated in every meeting. What do you have to say?
As I said, these are their (BJP leaders) catchphrases and they have nothing concrete to say. So are indulging in such tactics. They have become defensive. Cannot you see, the PM, Union home minister, five CMs and five central ministers, all are coming here and speaking in the same clamour. I challenge them to debate on our schemes, laws, guarantees, government’s performance and tell us our weaknesses. But this they will not do. They will just make an issue out of a non-issue. They are delivering inciting speeches to win elections.
– PM Narendra Modi said that the Congress government in Rajasthan sympathises with terrorists. What is your reaction?
He should have then dismissed our government. And why just our government, if any government in the country sympathises with the terrorists, it should immediately be dismissed by the Centre. If we have really sympathised with the terrorists, what bigger crime can there be? So, why are they not dismissing our government? The PM has levelled such a big charge against us without giving any thought. This shows they (BJP leaders) are freaked out. He (PM) does not know what he is saying and what he should be saying.
– Has religion become a big issue for the people these days?Do you think BJP is winning elections by polarising people on the basis of religion? How do you see it?
They (BJP leaders) have no other issue. We do not care for that (polarisation). We are contesting the election purely on our schemes and performance.
– The BJP manifesto promises to increase the Kisan Samman Nidhi to Rs 12,000. It also says that during Congress rule, the agricultural land of 19,400 farmers was confiscated, so it will bring a compensation policy for the auctioned land of farmers. How do you respond to that? From where did they get this figure from? They are experts in telling lies. All their ads are a bundle of lies. They have nothing to say, so they are misleading the people. We have our schemes, our guarantees and our laws. We have passed a law to ensure that farmers’ agricultural lands cannot be confiscated. We have an Act to guarantee minimum income. Does the right to health Act exist anywhere else in India? Probably not even in the entire world. We have passed the gig workers Act and have implemented the urban employment guarantee law. We have a lot to show, whereas they have nothing.
-How will the caste survey be implemented in Rajasthan if the Congress government gets repeated?
We have already passed the order. We will do it the way Bihar has done. We would like to know what the economic condition of different castes is. There was a socio-economic survey done during the UPA government’s tenure and we would like to do it in the same style and take (policy) decisions on that basis.
