News Analysis India

Tag: ashok gehlot

  • Parliament march by Rahul Gandhi most significant for democracy: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Accusing the central government of undermining democracy, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the march by Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders outside Parliament was of great significance.

    “They protested against the abrupt end to the Monsoon Session, how opposition MPs were manhandled in Rajya Sabha & how opposition was not allowed to raise people’s issues in Parliament,” Gehlot tweeted.

    “Under NDA, every day is a new low as they continue to undermine parliamentary democracy,” he added.

    Leaders of several opposition parties on Thursday marched in protest against the government on several issues, including Pegasus, farm laws, and alleged manhandling of their MPs in Rajya Sabha, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying the voice of people was crushed in Parliament and democracy was “murdered”.

  • Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot stresses on online delivery of citizen services

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said that providing good governance and access to all the services of government departments with the use of information technology is the top priority of the state government.

    He directed officials to ensure online delivery of all types of citizen services.

    He asked all departments to share information of schemes and programs on the public information portal by October 2 this year.

    Rajasthan will be the first state to take such initiative for transparency and good governance using IT.

    Gehlot was addressing the review meeting of the Department of Information Technology and Communications through video conference at the Chief Minister’s residence on Tuesday evening.

    In a statement, Chief Minister said that in order to promote entrepreneurship among the youth and students of rural areas, incubation centres should be established at the educational division level and startup activities should be encouraged up to the school level.

    Gehlot said that the state government is giving priority to startup activities, but such programs are currently limited to big cities.

    He asked officials to start Rural I-Start program on the lines of I-Start and connect the students of English medium schools opened by the state government, women self-help groups in rural areas, innovators, rural entrepreneurs etc.

    The Chief Minister said that the complainants dialing on the 181 helpline contact portal should be satisfied in a better way and directed to ensure its effective monitoring.

    Gehlot said that the Department of Information Technology has played an important role in COVID management during the pandemic.

    He said that the department should document this work.

    Chief Secretary Niranjan Arya said that the use of information technology is becoming important for taking good governance to the grassroots level.

    People who are not able to take advantage of government schemes due to lack of information, there is a need to make them aware about the use of information technology.

    Principal Secretary, Information Technology Department, Alok Gupta said that during the last one-and-a-half year, more than 500 meetings were organised through video conference by the Chief Minister.

    About 6,500 meetings and interactions through VC from state capital to District and Village-Dhani level along with connecting migrant Rajasthanis and dignitaries settled in the country and abroad to ensure important information, guidelines and participation of all in COVID management.

    Principal Secretary, Finance, Akhil Arora said that it has been decided to give work orders up to Rs.15 lakh to the registered start-ups in the state for selected works in various departments without tender system.

    This will give a boost to start ups activities, he said.

  • Rajasthan government working to ensure welfare of tribal communities: CM Ashok Gehlot

    Ashok Gehlot said his government is working with a commitment to ensure the welfare of the state #39;s tribal communities.

  • Second COVID wave effect now negligible in Rajasthan, but people shouldn’t lower guard: CM Gehlot

    Gehlot directed that the committee of ministers constituted regarding the reopening of educational institutions in the state should take appropriate decisions in view of the pandemic in other states.

  • Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot opposes reshuffle, wants bigger Cabinet

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR:  AICC’s troubleshooter-in-chief D K Shivakumar landed in Jaipur on Tuesday to iron out the wrinkles in the Cabinet reshuffle in Rajasthan. Sources said that the reshuffle slated for August 5 is likely to get delayed as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is reluctant to induct Sachin Pilot supporters into the Cabinet at the expense of MLAs, who helped him blunt the Congress former state unit chief’s rebellion in 2019.

    Sources said Shivakumar held a meeting with Gehlot and in the evening left for Delhi. He is likely to apprise the high command of the situation in Rajasthan on Wednesday. With several rounds of discussions continuing between both the camps, the rejig of the Gehlot cabinet is likely to take a little longer.

    Karnataka Congress chief Shivakumar’s visit follows Kumari Selja’s brief trip to Jaipur over the weekend. It was during Selja’s visit that speculation on problems surrounding the reshuffle started emerging. 

    Amid demand for plum posts by Sachin Pilot supporters, sources said Gehlot was not ready to reconstitute the Cabinet, but expand it. Instead of dropping any of his existing ministers, Gehlot wants to add new faces from the Pilot camp at a time when the high command wants to sack the non-perfomers. 

    Breaking this impasse would be the main agenda in Shivakumar’s meeting with Gehlot, sources said. However, Shivkumar refused to give details on his visit, saying it was a personal trip. Congress insiders say that Gehlot is agreeable to taking three ministers from the Pilot camp, but there is a dispute over who those three should be.

    Recently, AICC General secretary K C Venugopal and state in-charge Ajay Maken had come to resolve this dispute, but were unsuccessful. Shivakumar in expected to come up with a new formula to break the impasse, Congress insiders said.  

    Meanwhile, Gehlot loyalist Shanti Dhariwal, considered the number-two in the Cabinet, said: “Who is making changes in Rajasthan? The only thing that counts here is the view of Ashok Gehlot.”  The statement was widely viewed as the indication of Gehlot loyalists strongly resisting a wide-ranging reshuffle. Sources said that the MLAs support Gehlot’s stand that there should not be any reshuffle but only an expansion.

  • Amid dispute over Rajasthan Cabinet reshuffle, Congress leader DK Shivakumar meets CM Gehlot

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: Ahead of a major reshuffle of the Rajasthan Cabinet, politics in the state Congress is intensifying sharply. After Haryana Congress President Kumari Selja met CM Ashok Gehlot over the weekend, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar came to Jaipur to meet the Rajasthan CM on Tuesday.

    According to highly placed sources, Gehlot is still not in a mood to accommodate the demands of the Sachin Pilot camp at the cost of his 102 loyalist MLAs – and fresh uncertainty looms over the reshuffle which was earlier expected by August 5 but is now likely to be postponed by about a week.

    Kumari Selja’s brief trip to Jaipur to meet Gehlot had fuelled speculation about problems regarding the upcoming reshuffle in the Gehlot Cabinet. Amid demands by Sachin Pilot supporters that they should get a bigger share of power in the Congress-ruled state, it was speculated that Selja, a close aide of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, had travelled to Jaipur to convey a message from the party’s central leadership to Gehlot.

    While efforts are being made to address the ongoing dispute between Gehlot and Pilot, it is simply not getting resolved. With Karnataka Congress chief Shivakumar arriving in Jaipur on Tuesday, the buzz about difficulties in resolving this dispute has got stronger.

    Sources in the Rajasthan Congress say the major problem is that Gehlot is not ready to reconstitute the Cabinet and only wants to expand it. Instead of dropping any of his existing ministers, Gehlot only wants to add some new ones, of which a few can be from the Pilot camp. Resolving this issue is said to be the main agenda in Shivakumar’s meeting with Gehlot. Not only the Pilot camp but even the High Command is said to be keen to drop non-performing ministers.

    However, officialy Shivakumar denied that there is any political intent behind his Jaipur trip. Talking to the media, he said, “I have come on a personal visit and there is no message from anyone and no agenda. Neither related with Karnataka, Rajasthan or Centre.”

    Congress insiders say though Gehlot is agreeable to taking three ministers from the Pilot camp, there is a big dispute over who exactly those three should be. Recently, the AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal and state in-charge Ajay Maken had come to resolve this dispute but they could not succeed in persuading Gehlot to reshuffle his cabinet. It is being widely speculated that Shivakumar in his discussions with the Chief Minister has tried to come up with a new formula to break the standoff between the Congress High Command and Gehlot over the Cabinet reshuffle.

    Meanwhile, a statement by UDH minister and close confidant of Gehlot, Shanti Dhariwal, has further heated up politics in the state. When the media asked him about the Cabinet reshuffle-expansion, Dhariwal, considered the number two minister in the Gehlot cabinet, stated, “Who is making changes in Rajasthan. The only thing that counts here is the view of Ashok Gehlot.” This is seen as an indication that Gehlot loyalists are strongly resisting a wide-ranging reshuffle and want only an expansion of the Cabinet.

    Shivakumar left Jaipur for Delhi on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, he is likely to meet top Congress leaders in Delhi and apprise them about his meeting with Gehlot. With several rounds of discussions continuing, the reorganisation of the Gehlot Cabinet is likely to take a little longer.

  • Selja meets Gehlot, fuels speculation over Rajasthan Cabinet reshuffle

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Congress leader Kumari Selja has made a short, unannounced trip here to meet Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, fuelling speculation over a likely reshuffle in his Cabinet.

    Selja, who is Haryana Congress president, landed at Jaipur airport on Sunday night, held a brief meeting with Gehlot at his residence and then left for Delhi on Monday morning, party leaders said.

    The sudden trip has added to the speculation over the expected reshuffle, amid demands by supporters of former chief minister Sachin Pilot that they should get a bigger share of power in the Congress-ruled state.

    There has been no official statement on the meeting but is being speculated that Selja travelled to Jaipur to convey a message from the party’s central leadership.

    Selja is supposed to enjoy the confidence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and is also considered close to Gehlot.

    She was the chairperson of the screening committee formed to decide the Congress candidates in the last assembly elections in Rajasthan.

    Congress general secretary Ajay Maken, who is in-charge of Rajasthan at the AICC, last week held a series of meetings with party MLAs and state unit leaders in Jaipur.

    In a clear indication that some members of the Gehlot Cabinet may be dropped, Maken had on Friday said a few ministers have expressed willingness to quit the state government to work for the organisation.

    The Gehlot government, which came to power in December 2018, has completed half of its tenure.

    The demand for a cabinet reshuffle and political appointments to other posts gained momentum in June after some MLAs close to Sachin Pilot expressed resentment, saying promises made by the party high command to him last year had not be fulfilled.

    Including Gehlot, there are 21 members now in the Rajasthan ministry and up to nine more can be accommodated.

    Similarly, there are vacancies in party units at the district level.

    The Congress high command had brought about a truce in the Rajasthan unit after rebel MLAs led by Pilot appeared to bring the Gehlot government to the brink of collapse last year.

    A three-member AICC committee was formed to look into the grievances of Pilot supporters.

    But they claim that this has not happened even months later.

  • 64 per cent of promises made in election manifesto fulfilled: Rajasthan CM

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said that so far, 64 per cent of the promises made in the 2018 assembly election manifesto have been fulfilled.

    In a review meeting with Congress manifesto committee chairman Tamradhwaj Sahu, MP Amar Singh and members of the council of ministers, Gehlot said that out of 501 promises of the ‘Jan Ghoshna Patra’, 321 have been fulfilled.

    The state government will fulfil the remaining promises, he said, adding that a Cabinet sub-committee is continuously monitoring the implementation of the manifesto.

    Gehlot said promises related to farmers, women, youth, unemployed, animal husbandry, needy sections and basic amenities are being fulfilled on priority.

    He said that the ‘Jan Ghosna Patra’ (manifesto) is a policy document of the state government as well as a vision document to accelerate the development of Rajasthan.

    “The government is committed for time-bound fulfilment of each promise,” he said. In the review meeting, All India Congress Committee (AICC) member Sahu expressed satisfaction over the progress of the state government.

    He said that the speed with which efforts are being made to fulfil the promises made in the manifesto is commendable.

    Later, Sahu told reporters that apart from fulfilling the promises of the manifesto, the state government has done some additional works and launched schemes in public interest which were not there in the manifesto.

    He said that due to the Covid pandemic, there was delay in the execution of some of the promises. “However, the overall execution is good,” Sahu said.

    Sahu said that he will prepare a report of the review meeting and submit it to the party high command in next two to three days.

  • Congress to retain power in Rajasthan in 2023 Assembly polls: CM Ashok Gehlot to party MLAs

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has exuded confidence that the Congress will return to power in the state in the 2023 Assembly polls.

    “Forget, forgive and unite. There is no dearth of development work in the state. The work will continue like this….Have faith. All of you will win (in the election) and the Congress will form the government in 2023,” Gehlot said during an informal meeting with party MLAs at his residence on Thursday night.

    The chief minister also announced that Rs 3 crore per MLA will be released for COVID-19 vaccination. The amount was withheld earlier. According to the chief whip in the state Assembly, Mahesh Joshi, Gehlot said, “I have said this before and still say that I will work as the guardian for everyone. Whatever work you want, get it done from me.”

    Joshi said the chief minister announced that the withheld amount of Rs 3 crore will be released from the MLAs’ fund, but he also made it clear that of the total amount of Rs 5 crore, the legislators will have to put Rs 2 crore in the health sector and the remaining Rs 3 crore will be spent on development work.

    Gehlot asked the MLAs to print booklets on the work done during their tenure of two-and-a-half years and distribute those among the public. The booklets will also be given to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC).

    AICC in-charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maken said, “I have not seen such a spectacular performance of the government and the MLAs anywhere else.” Ahead of an expected cabinet reshuffle, Maken concluded his talks with the party legislators to take feedback on the performance of the Congress government in the state.

    He held one-on-one meetings with 49 MLAs from 20 districts on Thursday. During his two-day tour of the state, Maken met 115 legislators. He will submit a report to the party high-command in New Delhi. The Congress came to power in the state in December 2018 and has completed almost a half of its term.

    The ruling party has 106 MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. Apart from this, the government has the support of 13 Independent MLAs. Ahead of the expected cabinet rejig, Congress general secretaries Maken and K C Venugopal held a discussion with Gehlot last Saturday.

    Sources in the Congress said the leaders have decided to leave the decision of cabinet expansion to the party high-command. They said Maken would hold a meeting with the state Congress office-bearers on Friday. Gehlot is likely to host a lunch for the party’s state executive members.

  • Negative feedback from MLAs may cost some Rajasthan ministers their jobs

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: With AICC general secretary Ajay Maken extending his one-on-one discussions with Congress MLAs in Rajasthan by another day, speculation is rife that some ministers in the Gehlot government may be shunted out owing to negative feedback. 

    Maken, Congress’ Rajasthan in-charge, met MLAs for the second straight day on Thursday to resolve the rift in the state unit. While a Cabinet rejig is likely to happen in August, the tussle between the Gehlot and Pilot factions persists. Pilot loyalists say some existing ministers must be dropped based on their performance and the feedback from MLAs. But, the Gehlot camp is in no mood to accommodate the demand. 

    Maken has completed interaction with 53 MLAs from 20 districts. On Friday, he will hold talks with the office bearers of the state Congress unit. Many MLAs have reportedly complained to Maken about the working style and behaviour of some senior ministers including PHED Minister B D Kalla, Health Minister Raghu Sharma, Cooperative Minister Parsadilal Meena, Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra, Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, and UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal. 

    In a veiled attack on the Sachin Pilot camp, Health Minister Sharma said such reports are pushed to the media in a planned manner. “They have nothing to do with reality,” he added. While Sharma sounded confident, several ministers in the Gehlot cabinet are nervous. According to sources, Maken has taken detailed notes of the MLAs’ feedback on his iPad and is likely to share the same with party chief Sonia Gandhi. 

    Cabinet rejig likely in August first weekAccording to sources in the Congress party, a Cabinet rejig is likely in the first week of August