News Analysis India

Tag: ashok gehlot

  • Criticism does not mean indecency: Gehlot’s aide slams Union minister for ‘derogatory remarks’

    By PTI

    JIPUR: Condemning the alleged derogatory remarks made by Union minister S P Singh Baghel against Ashok Gehlot, an aide of the Rajasthan chief minister on Thursday said criticism in democracy does not mean indecency, dishonesty, and bad manners.

    Addressing a public meeting on Wednesday in Kharsan area in Udaipur’s Vallabhnagar assembly constituency where a bypoll is scheduled, Baghel, who is the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, accused Gehlot of not fulfilling promises made to the people.

    Gehlot’s officer on special duty (OSD) Lokesh Sharma shared a news item alongwith a purported video wherein the Union minister can be heard calling Gehlot a liar and then questioning the parentage of those who do not stick to their words. Baghel also said that Gehlot was born on the day when a thousand liars had died.

    Highlighting the contents of the manifesto that the Congress came out with ahead of the 2018 Rajasthan assembly polls, Baghel alleged that the Ashok Gehlot-led government has failed to fulfill promises made to the people.

    “Gehlot ji, you had said that if the Congress forms government (in Rajasthan), you will give unemployment allowance” if you (people) have got it, just tell me,” he asked the people present there.

    He also said that loan waiver and 24-hour electricity were promised in the manifesto and asked the people whether these promises have been fulfilled or not.

    “So, I was saying that Gehlot would have been born on the day when a thousand liars died,” he commented. Reacting sharply, Sharma said the Union minister’s utterances for Gehlot were very shameful. The people should think how low the Union minister will stoop to get publicity, he added.

    Polling in Vallabhnagar (Udaipur) and Dhariawad (Pratapgarh) constituencies will be held on October 30 and counting of votes will take place on November 2.

  • Rejig in Rajasthan cabinet on cards after CM Ashok Gehlot’s chat with Gandhi siblings

    By Express News Service

    JAIPUR:  Even though there is no official announcement, cabinet reshuffle in Rajasthan is on the cards. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot held discussions with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken at Rahul Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi on Saturday night. On behalf of Rahul, instructions were given to Gehlot to complete the process at the earliest.

    Top leaders remained tight-lipped. Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken told the media after the meeting there was ‘nothing special’. But sources close to Gehlot said that the meeting lasted for over an hour and the chief minister presented a roadmap to Rahul and Priyanka. It is learnt that there was talk on caste and regional balance in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle and political appointments. The role of the Sachin Pilot camp was also discussed.

    Sources said Gehlot spoke about shifting certain leaders from the governmental wing to the organisation. For instance, minister Harish Chaudhary is willing to move from the government to the organisation. Govind Singh Dotasra, who holds the post of state Congress president is also the education minister. Health minister Raghu Sharma has been given the additional responsibility of Gujarat in-charge. Both Dotasara and Sharma have given indications of leaving their ministerial posts.

    The Pilot camp is also said to be demanding a cabinet reshuffle. A consensus is yet to be reached on inducting the Pilot supporters. On Friday, Gehlot met Sonia Gandhi’s advisor Ambika Soni but could not meet the Congress president. Although he was scheduled to stay in Delhi on Sunday, he returned to Jaipur on Saturday night. With bypolls going on in Rajasthan, a cabinet reshuffle is unlikely before the results are declared on November 2.

    In July last year, Pilot and 18 MLAs camped in Delhi against the leadership of Gehlot. It was through the efforts of Priyanka that the crisis was resolved. Since then, Pilot has been asking the Gandhis to fulfil the demands of his supporters. With leaders from Rajasthan meeting the siblings instead of Sonia, observers feel these developments may have broader political implications.

    There are 21 ministers in the Gehlot cabinet and nine more posts are vacant. If Dotasra and Sharma step down, there will be room for 11 new ministers. Gehlot is said to be keen on six MLAs who came to Congress from BSP, other than his 13 independent MLA supporters. The Pilot camp wants 4-6 ministerial posts from among the MLAs loyal to him.

  • Rajasthan government to bring ordinance to strengthen law against recruitment exam malpractices: Ashok Gehlot

    Ashok Gehlot said strict action should be taken against those found involved in irregularities in all future recruitment examinations.

  • Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s upcoming Delhi trip sparks cabinet reshuffle talk

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR:  Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s proposed visit to Delhi has intensified the buzz about changes in his government and the state Congress organisation. Gehlot will go to Delhi on October 16 to attend the Congress Working Committee meeting.

    The long-pending cabinet reshuffle and political appointments are likely to be discussed. These are set to get the green signal when Gehlot meets Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Gehlot is not a member of the Congress Working Committee but CMs of Congress-ruled states have been attending these meetings. This will be Gehlot’s second visit to Delhi this year, after February 27.

    After the change of CM in Punjab, the announcement of two Assembly by-elections in Rajasthan and the heated politics in UP over the Lakhimpur tragedy, discussion about changes in the government and organisation in Rajasthan Congress got delayed. Now, politics in the desert state is all set to heat up once again.  

    The Sachin Pilot camp has been demanding a cabinet reshuffle for a long time. Apart from the MLAs coming to Congress from BSP, MLAs of Gehlot’s camp also keep raising the demand for cabinet expansion and political appointments. State in-charge Ajay Maken has given deadlines. but neither cabinet reshuffle nor the work on political appointments and organisation expansion has progressed. 

    According to sources, Gehlot will discuss these with Sonia, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.  He is also likely to meet senior leaders like KC Venugopal and Maken. The Working Committee meeting will discuss current political issues, Assembly elections and organisation elections, apart from other topics.

    BJP leaders retaliate after Rajasthan CM calls them ‘fools’

    JAIPUR: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot is once again in the headlines for making controversial remarks. Last year, he had called Sachin Pilot nikamma or useless character. Now, he has run into trouble for calling some state BJP leaders ‘fools’.

    Taking objection to his statement, BJP leaders have started hitting back at Gehlot and Rahul Gandhi. State BJP president Satish Poonia tweeted in response to Gehlot’s remark, “Chief Minister has claimed that some people of Rajasthan BJP are fools. Please release the list of those idiots. From this, it is understood that you and Rahul Gandhi are the most intelligent people in the country and you should get a referendum done on this.”

    This controversy erupted after the lynching of an SC youth in Hanumangarh district, over which BJP leaders have been attacking the Gehlot government. BJP leaders even connected the Hanumangarh issue with the Lakhimpur-Kheeri incident in Uttar Pradesh. BJP leaders said Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi are active in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh but not in Rajasthan

  • Rajasthan CM’s elder brother Agrasain Gehlot appears before ED in money laundering case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s elder brother Agrasain Gehlot again appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here on Monday for questioning in a money laundering case against him and others that is linked to alleged fertiliser export irregularities, official sources said.

    It is understood that his statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

    The senior Gehlot, accompanied by a lawyer, appeared before the ED around 11:30 am and left after about 8 hours.

    He had earlier appeared and recorded his statement with the agency on September 27 and even once before this.

    The ED had raided Gehlot and his businesses in July last year after it filed a criminal case under the PMLA based on a 2007-09 Customs Department case where it was alleged that irregularities took place in the procurement and export of subsidised Muriate of Potash (MOP) meant for farmers and investigation in this case were finalised in 2013.

    It took cognisance of the customs’ FIR and a chargesheet filed on July 13, 2020 in this case to press money laundering charges and probe a “smuggling syndicate” allegedly linked to Agrasain Gehlot, his firm Anupam Krishi and others.

  • Rajasthan bypolls: Gehlot, Pilot among star campaigners for Congress

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: The Congress has included Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot among its star campaigners for the bypolls to the Vallabhgarh and Dhariyawad Assembly seats.

    The list released by party general secretary K C Venugopal also has names of Ajay Maken, the incharge of the Rajasthan affairs at the AICC; and state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra.

    The ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had last Thursday announced names of their candidates for the bypolls, which will be held on October 30.

    The Congress has fielded Preeti Shaktawat from Vallabhnagar and Nagraj Meena from Dhariyawad. In Vallabhnagar, the BJP has given ticket to Himmat Singh Jhala. For Dhariyawad, the BJP has fielded Khet Singh.

    The bypolls have been necessitated due to the demise of Congress MLA from Vallabhnagar Gajendra Shaktawat and BJP MLA from Dhariyawad Gautam Lal Meena.

    In the Assembly of 200, the ruling Congress at present has 106 MLAs, BJP 71, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) 3, CPI(M) and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) 2 each and the Rashtriya Lok Dal 1. Thirteen are Independent legislators.

  • After SC takes cognisance of Lakhimpur incident, Sibal hails apex court; Gehlot seeks Centre’s intervention

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday thanked the Chief Justice of India after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and said courts in India are temples of justice that can restore the faith of the voiceless.

    Eight people were killed in the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district during a farmers’ protest on Sunday.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana is scheduled to hear the matter on Thursday.

    “Thank the Chief Justice of India for deciding to take up the matter suo motu. This is the need of the hour. This and courts in India are the temples of justice that can restore the faith of the voiceless who most often feel orphaned,” Sibal tweeted.

    Responding to Sibal’s tweet, Congress leader and lawyer Vivek Tankha said, “Yes kapil ji. After such savagery if there is no action it’s a blot on our democracy and Justice delivery system.”

    “SC is gaining trust of people by (taking) such independent decisions!!” he tweeted.

    Earlier in the day, Sibal had urged the Supreme Court to act suo motu on the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

    “Supreme Court, there was a time when there was no YouTube, no social media, the Supreme Court acted suo motu on the basis of news in the print media. It heard the voice of the voiceless,” Sibal said in a tweet.

    The violence in Lakhimpur Kheri has triggered a major political storm with opposition parties accusing the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government of shielding the culprits.

    Of the eight people killed, four were farmers, who were allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

    The other four include two BJP workers, a driver of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, and Raman Kashyap, a journalist working for a private TV channel.

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said the Centre should intervene in the matter.

    He said the entire country was a witness to the struggles of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi against violence in Lakhimpur Kheri and the “dictatorship” of BJP-led government in UP and the Centre.

    “The Uttar Pradesh government had to eventually hear the voice of the nation and release Priyanka ji after an illegal custody of 52 hours,” he tweeted.

    The AICC general secretary was detained in Sitapur early Monday on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri where eight people were killed the previous day.

    While four of the dead in Sunday’s incident were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, the others included BJP workers and their driver who were allegedly lynched.

    Gehlot noted that Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other Congress leaders are going there to meet the bereaved families of farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

    “It is surprising that no culprits have been arrested so far. The central government should intervene in the matter to ensure that those guilty are arrested and the victims get justice,” he said in another tweet.

  • Ashok Gehlot urges Centre to start paddy procurement in Rajasthan

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot has written to Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal, urging him to start procurement of paddy on the support price in the state at the earliest.

    According to a statement, Gehlot said 2.62 lakh metric tonnes of paddy is estimated to be produced during 2021-22 in Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar districts and in such a situation, a target of procuring 50,000 metric tonnes of paddy on the support price should be fixed.

    He wrote that the Union government has set a target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022 and the purchase of agricultural commodities at support price has a direct impact on their income.

    Gehlot said if the procurement is not started early, then these farmers will not be able to get the proper price for their produce like last year and they will have to suffer financial losses.

  • ‘Unlawful detention of opposition leaders in UP against democratic values’: Ashok Gehlot

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Stating that the unlawful detention of opposition leaders is against democratic values, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday condemned the move to stop Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others from going to meet the families of farmers killed in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh.

    Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister S S Randhawa were among those prevented from going to the state by the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government, Gehlot said, a day after violence during a farmers” protest in Lakhimpur Kheri claimed eight lives, including four farmers.

    “Only a dictator government can do this. Does the ruling BJP in UP want to end democracy? In this way, the violation of civil rights is also against the spirit of the Constitution,” he said.

    “I strongly condemn the detention of AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi ji and other leaders by the Uttar Pradesh Police. She is a prominent opposition leader and was on her way to meet the families of farmers who were killed yesterday in Lakhimpur Kheri district. The unlawful detention of opposition leaders is against democratic values,” Gehlot said in a tweet.

    Priyanka Gandhi’s convoy was briefly stopped by Uttar Pradesh Police in Lucknow where she reached Sunday night, a few hours after violence during the anti-farm laws protest.

    “Priyanka ji was going to stand with the families who lost their loved ones in yesterday’s violence. It is totally unfair to stop them for discharging duty,” Gehlot said.

    An FIR has been registered against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra and several others persons in connection with the violence.

    Farmer leaders claimed that Ashish Mishra was in one of the cars that allegedly knocked down some protesters opposing Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit.

    The eight people killed included four farmers and four people in the convoy of BJP workers who had come to welcome the UP minister.

    They were allegedly thrashed to death.

    The Rajasthan chief minister said farmers protesting peacefully were killed by BJP leader’s convoy and then opposition leaders were stopped from meeting the families of the victims.

    This, he said, is absolutely wrong.

    Gehlot added that the BJP government’s inhuman face has come to the fore.

    It is undemocratic to ignore the demands of the farmers, stalling the farmers’ movement, oppressing them and then not allowing any opposition party to stand with them, he said.

  • ‘Will be around for 10-15 years’: Confident Gehlot plans to remain CM even after next elections in Rajasthan

    By Express News Service

    JAIPUR: Amid speculations that after Punjab, Rajasthan could see major changes, CM Ashok Gehlot has asserted that he is not going anywhere and will be around for another 10-15 years. His comments at the launch ceremony of “Prashasan Shahron aur Gawon ke Sang” campaign in Jaipur on Saturday have created a big buzz. Political corridors from Jaipur to Delhi are busy deciphering the veiled messages which the Congress veteran has tried to convey to his rivals within and outside his party.

    The senior Congress leader has been involved in a battle of wits with the Congress high command over sharing of power with the rival camp led by former deputy CM Sachin Pilot. A super confident Gehlot claimed that his government would complete its full tenure of five years and he would be active for the next 15-odd years. Gehlot said all speculations of an overhaul in Rajasthan after the change of guard in Punjab were “wrong and unfounded”.

    Far from being diffident, CM Gehlot has asserted that the Congress government would not only complete its five years but would also come back to power in the next Assembly elections in Rajasthan. “There is no anti-incumbency factor against our government. We have obtained authentic feedback from the people,” Gehlot remarked.

    CM Gehlot’s comments about the government’s stability are seen as an indirect counter to the Pilot camp which has been eager to see a leadership change in the state as in Punjab. Gehlot’s remarks have come at a time when the Congress High Command is facing a major crisis not only due to the mess in Punjab but due to the challenge from the G 23 group which has been targeting the Gandhi family for the past several months.

    Over the four decades of his political career, CM Gehlot has been well known for the timing and content of his statements. At a time when his critics in the Pilot camp are expecting a major overhaul in Rajasthan through cabinet reshuffle and political appointments, CM Gehlot has tried to turn the political tide to his advantage.

    Most political observers believe that CM Gehlot’s comments were directed at the rival camp in Congress led by his former deputy Sachin Pilot though he did not take any names. The 70-year-old Congress veteran has clearly asserted that he still has strong support at the ground level and unlike Amarinder Singh in Punjab, dislodging him in Rajasthan is simply not possible for the moment.

    Gehlot also asserted that his UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal will retain the same portfolio in the next government also. A signal that Gehlot plans to stay as chief minister if the Congress wins the next assembly election.

    “Dhariwal Ji has worked very hard will again make him UDH Minister next time also ” asserted Gehlot in one of his statement.

    CM Gehlot even referred to his recent angioplasty and thanked the people of the state for sending their wishes and prayers for his well-being. Significantly, however, the Chief Minister made no mention of the issue of Cabinet reshuffle as well as political appointments, which have been inordinately delayed. MLAs from the Pilot camp have been anxiously waiting for inclusion in the Cabinet and political positions ever since an assurance was given by the Congress high command but Gehlot has so far refused to accommodate them.

    For many months CM Gehlot has been resisting pressure from not just the Pilot camp but even the Congress high command over Cabinet reshuffle and other political appointments. Pilot was sacked both as the Deputy CM and the Pradesh Congress president after he and his 18 loyalist MLAs staged a rebellion against CM Gehlot in July last year. With his latest remarks, the wily Gehlot has signalled that he is in no hurry and will carry out the reshuffle only according to his own judgement.

    Rajasthan can have a maximum of 30 Ministers and with a present strength of 21, nine slots are vacant in the Council of Ministers.