Jaipur, Feb 23 (PTI) Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led state government, saying no government has ever engaged in comparison like “two year verses five year tenure” in the House.
He was referring to developments in the assembly on Saturday after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel tabled a report titled ‘Sarkar@2 Varsh Pragati Evam Utkarsh 2024-25-2026’ on two-years achievement of the BJP government.
Leader of opposition Tikaram Jully, while objecting to the contents of the report, said the chief minister earlier said there would be a discussion on “two years versus Congress’s five years”.
Patel had said the report compared the present government’s two-year performance with the previous Congress government’s five-year tenure, leading to disruptions in the Rajasthan Assembly.
Referring to the debate’s topic that was proposed, the former chief minister said on Monday that it was absurd and unprecedented in the country’s democratic history.
Addressing medipersons outside the assembly, Gehlot said that since Independence, no government at the Centre or in any state engaged in such a comparison within the House.
“Since Independence, no government has made such a foolish statement. It was an extremely illogical remark,” he said, while questioning the rationale behind the comparison of “five years” and “two years”.
“Neither at the national level nor in any state had there been a debate framed as two years versus five years,” he said.
Gehlot said the government initially agreed to such a discussion but later changed its stand to debating only its performance report.
He also said the performance of the BJP government was poor and the chief minister should take direct public feedback to assess the situation.
The situation of law and order has deteriorated in the state, and more than 11,000 rape cases have been registered in two years, but the government has not agreed to discuss matters related to the home department.
Gehlot accused the ruling BJP of stalling works started by the government under him.
Among the 19 colleges that would be inaugurated during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ajmer on February 28, work on 18 started when the Congress government was in power, he claimed.
The former chief minister alleged that some schemes started by his government had been discontinued, while others that were completed were not operational.
“Many works remain unfinished. If completed, they would benefit the public and especially the youth,” he added.
Meaningful discussion between the treasury and opposition benches could lead to constructive suggestions and better governance, he said.
Gehlot also attacked the central government and said that democracy was under threat. He questioned the role of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, suggesting he was not impartial.
“PM Narendra Modi had earlier talked about ‘Congress-free India’, and now he has stated about ‘Opposition-free India’. In a democracy, the existence of an opposition is necessary,” he said, adding that without an opposition, power loses meaning.
He alleged that democratic institutions were functioning under pressure and healthy traditions were being weakened.
The former chief minister objected to remarks made by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying such comments vitiate the political atmosphere and harm democratic dialogue.
Gehlot said the kind of environment being created today was reminiscent of the period of Partition and the time when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.
He said that Rahul Gandhi’s family had made sacrifices for the nation, and now threats were issued for him. PTI AG SDA OZ OZ
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.