Jodhpur, Apr 2 (PTI) Attributing the delay in the construction of the refinery in Rajasthan’s Barmer to the BJP’s indifference towards the project, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said it has also almost doubled up the project’s cost from Rs 40,000 crore to about Rs 72,000 crore.
He also took a dig at the Centre over the rise in fuel prices saying the rates began soaring soon after elections in the five states.
“The refinery work is in progress. It has been delayed for five years by the BJP. We inaugurated the project in 2013 with a target of completion in 2017. But the BJP government did not take interest in the project for the five years of its term,” he said.
The previous BJP government in the state had called for a fresh survey of the project at Pachpadra in Barmer and re-inaugurated it in 2018 with the target of completing it by October this year.
However, according to officials, the project may see its completion in 2024.
Gehlot said that the BJP deliberately halted his government’s project meant for public welfare but never cancelled or halted any of its own initiatives.
The chief minister was in Jodhpur, his hometown, for the second time in a week to inspect over a dozen projects.
He also attended a one-day sit-in by the Congress against the rising prices and blamed the Centre’s “faulty policies and financial mismanagement” for the inflation.
“Their financial management is not proper. They have no emotions. Today, the inflation has derailed the budget of every household,” Gehlot said.
He claimed that the people were expecting a hike in fuel prices and they knew well that the Modi government had only been waiting for the elections in the five states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Punjab — to be concluded.
Gehlot quipped that his government had distributed 20,000 scooters to school girls, and now, they were unable to run those vehicles due to the fuel prices.
Citing Chief Justice of India NV Ramana’s recent statement regarding the autonomy of central agencies, he said it was high time that the Centre stopped misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Direction and the Income Tax department. PTI CORR CJ CJ
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