As Ashok Gehlot completes three years in his third tenure as Rajasthan Chief Minister, he speaks to The Indian Express on the challenges thus far, on what lies forward, and why he believes Rajasthan will lastly break a three-decade-long custom of not reelecting a authorities.
What are the big-ticket schemes that you simply assume will assist re-elect you in 2023?
Our authorities has labored for each part of society and uploaded particulars of each beneficiary. Our authorities has waived almost Rs 15,000 crore value of farm loans; has given an extra subsidy of Rs 1,000 on electrical energy payments of farmers, which has led to zero payments for about 3 lakh farmers; given free remedy as much as Rs 5 lakh by the Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana; and through Covid, given all the things free from checks to remedy. Authorities medical schools are being opened in 30 districts, 123 new schools have been opened, of which 32 are girls schools, we’ve got given 1 lakh authorities jobs whereas about 80,000 are within the pipeline, guidelines are being shaped for contractual employees, 88 lakh persons are being given social safety pension, roads are being laid in each Vidhan Sabha, complainants are being heard in police stations, and industrial areas opened in each block.
That is only a snapshot. Folks have accepted our work again and again. That’s the reason we’ve got gained large in six out of eight Meeting bypolls, and in city native our bodies and panchayati raj polls.
The BJP doesn’t have something to indicate in the case of its earlier governments or the Modi authorities. Therefore, they do politics of hate throughout the nation, within the identify of caste, faith, class and language. Now we have at all times sought votes on growth. Now the general public has sworn that they are going to vote within the identify of growth… Even after three years there is no such thing as a anti-incumbency… The BJP has not been in a position to promote enmity because of the strictness of our authorities and as a substitute their leaders are preventing amongst themselves.
The sort of Corona administration we did, there was no discontent, as seen in different states… This time the general public will break a convention since 1993 and vote within the Congress once more.
What is going to the federal government’s focus be within the subsequent two years?
Well being and social safety have at all times been our authorities’s precedence. Therefore, we didn’t let anybody be disadvantaged of remedy throughout Covid and never let anybody go hungry. Our authorities gave monetary help of Rs 5,500 to 33 lakh households. We additionally offered dry rations and meals for Rs 8 by Indira Rasoi. Our state has immense funding alternatives and we’re organising an ‘Make investments Rajasthan’ summit in January. Farmer’s welfare, girls empowerment, enhancing supply of public providers, Proper to Well being Invoice, offering alternatives to youth, shall be our precedence.
The ‘Proper to Well being’ Invoice has been within the works for lengthy. Equally, the accountability legislation. The ultimate draft is claimed to be prepared however for objections by some bureaucrats.
To repair accountability, our authorities, within the earlier tenure, introduced the Assured Supply of Public Service Act and Proper to Listening to Act. We’re working in direction of strengthening these two legal guidelines and analyzing the necessity for a contemporary legislation.
The NCRB report signifies crime has drastically risen in Rajasthan. In rape instances, Jaipur (409) is subsequent solely to Delhi (967), whereas the state is third general in crimes in opposition to girls, after Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The NCRB report says proper at first that crime is a results of numerous circumstances. We must always keep away from evaluating states solely on the premise of figures because of numerous state-specific insurance policies and procedures. Some folks make the error of assuming that improve in crime and a rise within the registration of crime are the identical factor. Our authorities carried out necessary registration of FIRs in 2019. Earlier, police would write the report on a clean paper and lodge an FIR solely once they discovered any proof. However girls and the marginalised communities used to face hassle because of this. Now everybody’s FIR is registered.
Not simply this, in 2019, our authorities arrange a particular unit for investigation of crimes in opposition to girls beneath an officer of Deputy SP rank in each district, now promoted to Extra SP. As a consequence of this, the investigation time in heinous instances similar to rape has decreased from 274 days in 2017-18 to 73. Now we have additionally appointed authorized officers in courts, in order that the offender isn’t let off. That is the rationale you retain studying that an accused was punished in 10 days or a call given inside a month.
However it’s a matter of concern that persons are maligning this coverage. Of the FIRs lodged in crimes in opposition to girls, 45.88 per cent had been discovered to be pretend in 2019, 45.23 per cent in 2020 and 47.56 per cent in 2021, until June… The state is being maligned because of folks misusing the legislation on this method.
That is your third time period as CM. What would you say has modified?
The most important distinction is within the relations between the Centre and state. Earlier, they labored collectively, however now the Centre treats Opposition-ruled states in a stepmotherly method. Rajasthan has been searching for nationwide venture standing for the Japanese Rajasthan Canal Venture (ERCP). It was introduced by the Prime Minister himself, however there was no motion on this.
After the implementation of the GST, rajyon ke paas koi khaas aarthik sansadhan nahin bache hain (the states aren’t left with any main sources of income). The Centre doesn’t give GST dues in time, because of which growth works of the state get caught. They take unilateral selections with out consulting states and states should bear its penalties. And it’s for the primary time that Central ministers are scheming to topple state governments – Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh…
A number of letters have been written by you to the Centre on the ERCP concern. What has been the response?
I’ve written 5 letters to the PM and 7 letters to the Union Jal Shakti minister. The Jal Shakti minister has replied thrice. The Centre has given Rs 40,000 crore for the Ken-Betwa river linking venture, however not taken any motion regarding the ERCP… We’re decided to finish the ERCP so we’ve got began work utilizing the state funds itself, however it’s troublesome with out Central help, which is why we’re searching for nationwide venture standing.
… Folks of the state have realised that if you happen to flip the roti rapidly, it finally ends up undercooked. So they are going to bless us once more in 2023.
Costs of petrol, diesel and cylinders have been rising. Do you assume the BJP will lose some votes on this account?
The economically well-off supporters of the BJP would possibly nonetheless again it, however ask the widespread man, the mazdoor, if their earnings has elevated in the identical proportion as inflation. Within the final 5 years, 22 crore folks have slipped beneath the poverty line. Can turning folks poorer be within the curiosity of the nation, because the BJP claims to be doing?… A Rs 20 lakh crore package deal was introduced through the (Covid) lockdown, however it was made loan-based and the financial system didn’t get any profit.
On the current rally in Jaipur, Rahul Gandhi stated there was a difference between being Hindu and being Hindutva-vadi. Is the Congress going to undertake comfortable Hindutva as a technique?
I’ve spoken earlier than on this concern and I’ll repeat it. A Hindu is one who believes in reality, nonviolence, love, brotherhood and tolerance. Hindus don’t hate anybody and respect all religions. However chadm (pseudo) Hindutva-vadis imagine in spreading violence, intolerance and hatred. The distinction between Hindu and chadm Hindutva-vadi is similar as that between Gandhiji and Godse…
It’s Rahulji’s perception that the BJP-RSS’s politics of hate and violence after distorting the fundamental nature of Hinduism ought to finish.
Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s identify has come up concerning the Sanjeevani Society case, and the Congress has accused him of tapping telephones of its leaders (through the Congress revolt led by Sachin Pilot). Why hasn’t there been any motion on the 2 points?
That is the distinction between their authorities and ours. We by no means use legislation companies for political functions. The police, SOG (Particular Operations Group), ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau), are all working independently. We by no means give them directions concerning a selected individual. Legislation will take its course and the courts will punish him for his unlawful acts.
You have got introduced free sanitary napkins for ladies by Udaan Yojana.
There may be such hesitation in discussing menstruation although it’s a pure course of. I used to be stunned to know that about 62 per cent of the ladies within the nation use means apart from sanitary pads. Docs say utilizing a material throughout menstruation can result in a number of sicknesses, together with cervical cancer. Therefore, we introduced Rs 200 crore on this funds to offer sanitary napkins to all girls within the state.
I imagine there ought to be a debate throughout the nation and governments should make schemes (for this).
