Minister claims three Congress MPs from Rajasthan spent area development funds in Haryana

Jaipur, Jan 5 (PTI) A Rajasthan minister on Monday accused three Congress MPs from the state of misusing the MPLADS funds for political interests and alleged that money was being spent in Haryana.

Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham claimed that Congress MPs Sanjana Jatav (Bharatpur), Rahul Kaswan (Churu) and Brijendra Singh Ola (Jhunjhunu) were "violating the norms" of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) to please the party's central leadership.

"The MPs were diverting funds to the Kaithal assembly constituency in Haryana, represented by Aditya Singh Surjewala, son of Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala," he alleged.

Bedham said that under the MPLADS rules, each MP is entitled to Rs 5 crore annually, of which a maximum of Rs 25 lakh can be spent outside the MP's constituency, while up to Rs 1 crore can be allocated in case of a disaster.

However, he alleged that the three Congress MPs were sending a major portion of their funds to Kaithal district in Haryana, even as development works remained incomplete in their own constituencies of Bharatpur, Churu and Jhunjhunu.

He further claimed that Sanjana Jatav had allocated Rs 45 lakh, Rahul Kaswan Rs 50 lakh and Brijendra Singh Ola Rs 25 lakh for development works in Kaithal.

"The people of Rajasthan voted for them, but the development funds are being spent in Haryana," he said.

Bedham also alleged that Bharatpur MP Sanjana Jatav had recommended 142 works under MPLADS, of which only 37 had been completed, all in Alwar district. He claimed that no work had been completed in Bharatpur district, while projects worth Rs 45 lakh were carried out in the Kaithal assembly constituency. PTI SDA PRK PRK