Gehlot slams Rajasthan govt for 'failing' to control criminals, corruption; BJP hits back

Jaipur, Jul 8 (PTI) Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday accused the Rajasthan government of failing to control criminal elements and rampant corruption, and neglecting key welfare schemes.

He urged Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma to take urgent action before public faith in the administration is "irreparably damaged".

Citing reports of repeated thefts at Congress MLA Deen Dayal Bairwa's residence, Gehlot said the scale of the problem is now impossible to ignore.

Hitting back, BJP state president Madan Rathore said Gehlot was getting disturbed by the public welfare works undertaken by Chief Minister Sharma.

Gehlot, while interacting with reporters at the Congress state headquarters here on the birth anniversary of party leader Girija Vyas, said a news item on the front page of a daily has reported the thefts at Bairwa's house. "The MLA says there have been three thefts at his home. When a newspaper puts it on the front page, you can imagine what the situation must be like for others in the state. No one is listening," he said and accused the BJP government of failing to control criminal elements and protect citizens.

"There is no one to listen, even in villages and districts. There is hooliganism, the mafia is dominant, and people do not know where to go to file complaints. The entire complaint system has collapsed." He expressed alarm over the alleged growing power of the sand mafia. "I have said before that the mafia has taken over the gravel trade. Gravel is extremely expensive now. Police are being attacked. So many incidents are happening, and there is no control." The former chief minister has also criticised the state government's handling of health insurance for the poor.

"The Rs 25 lakh insurance cover technically still exists, but people have been led to believe that it has been reduced to Rs 5 lakh. That's the government's biggest failure," he said.

He also lamented the "weakening" of the Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS) for state employees. "The RGHS was such an excellent scheme for employees. It has collapsed now, and the employees are unhappy." Gehlot urged CM Sharma to use the state's intelligence services to verify the issues raised by the opposition. "If there's no truth to them (issues raised by the opposition), fine. But if there is truth, he should fix them," the Congress leader said.

Gehlot further claimed that governance was being neglected in favour of public relations. "It's fine to travel and do tours, but you also need to govern. The chief minister has great authority. He needs to use that power." "The public should be able to raise complaints with us at any time; otherwise, you will get a bad name and fail at governance," Gehlot said, adding that his criticism was meant as constructive advice and not hostility.

"The opposition is not your enemy. When we speak, it is to warn you that these things are happening. You should take us seriously. It is in your interest too," he said.

Meanwhile, BJP state president Rathore countered Gehlot's remarks and said that had he followed the advice he was giving now, people would not have suffered under the Congress's "misrule" and he would not have been ousted from power.

He also alleged that the sand mafia is the "gift" of the Gehlot-led Congress government, while the BJP dispensation has made efforts to curb it. PTI AG NSD