Other States - Rajasthan   

`Good governance claim a farce'

Special Correspondent

Corruption, law and order situation alarming: Gehlot

JAIPUR: Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot on Sunday termed the just concluded four-day long "conclave on good governance" presided over by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the State capital a "big tamasha"(farce). The whole exercise participating senior bureaucracy and members of the State Cabinet was "futile" as it lacked transparency. The Ministers stopped the bureaucrats from speaking freely while the Chief Minister did the same with her colleagues, he charged.

"If the Government had spared some thought for the people in its three years in power there would not have had been a need to hold such chintan shivirs (introspection camps)," Mr. Gehlot said talking to journalists here. "When the previous Congress used to hold such annual camps they BJP used to criticize it. But we always came out with clear-cut plans for future after every such camp. The present Government has none," Mr. Gehlot said.

One of the senior Ministers, Ghanshyam Tiwari, who had earlier accused Ms. Raje of not being transparent in her functioning, did not attend any session in the conclave even when he was present in the capital, Mr. Gehlot noted. "He (Mr. Tiwari) in between celebrated his completion of 60 years with considerable fanfare in his hometown Sikar," Mr. Gehlot noted. "This Government itself is a tamasha," he said.

"The Government here has nothing to celebrate but it celebrated for seven days. More than 50 farmers of Bikaner division are in jail for more than three months for demanding irrigation water. There is scarcity for water, power and urea. The corruption is widespread and there is lot of resentment among the public over the law and order situation," Mr. Gehlot said referring to the weeklong celebrations on the occasion of the Raje Government completing three years on December 8.

Accusing widespread corruption in the functioning of the State Government Mr. Gehlot said the present regime could take "credit" in centralising corruption and making it "transparent".

"For the first time in Rajasthan's political history the brokers are known to the public. It is also known to whom it all leads to, finally," he said. "A share from each crate of liquor sold in the State goes to someone in the Government. Who gets it?" he asked.

Accusing the Government of purposely misleading the public on the setting up of IT Corridor and Knowledge Corridor along the Jaipur-Delhi stretch of the National Highway, Mr.Gehlot said there had been no plan for the projects as such but the Government allowed the rumours to spread only to benefit big developers and land sharks who purchased land at lower rates from the local farmers.

Mr. Gehlot said the Chief Minister and Home Minister owed an explanation to the public as well to the law enforcement authorities on the Deendayal Upadhaya Trust's land deal.

"Surprisingly the police have filed an FR (final report) on the issue despite the court order to file an FIR. Did the police take any statement from the Chief Minister, the Home Minister or the Mayor, who moved the application for the land, before deciding to close the case," he asked.

"Just because the Trust decided not to take possession of the land the criminal liability over the attempts made to take the land fraudulently would not go away," he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

`Good governance claim a farce'
Prescribe medicines with their generic terms, doctors told
Call for setting up a Central body for rainwater management
An eventful year for Madhya Pradesh

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu