Three-time Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, on completing two years in office, talked to Rajesh Asnani where he presented his report card, attacked the Central government for failing to provide any help to the states in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
How do you analyse your first two years of your third term as the chief minister and what are the big achievements?
I have become the CM three times only through the support and blessings of people of the state who are aware about who truly works for their welfare. These two years have been quite challenging since seven months went in model observing the model code of conduct due to elections and the last nine months we have been battling the coronavirus. But I am satisfied that despite these difficulties, we have done our best to serve the people of the state.
We are trying to provide a sensitive, transparent and accountable government to the people. We have written off loans for over 20 lakh farmers. We asked the central government to allow farm loans from nationalised banks to be waived but they did not agree. For the first time in the country, we have made it compulsory for FIR s to be registered and we have enabled FIR s to be lodged even in SP offices. We have opened 201 English medium schools and 90 government colleges in the past two years.
We have cleared the opening of 15 new medical colleges and this will ensure medical colleges in 30 of the 33 district in the state. The remaining three districts already have private medical colleges. Under the Indira Rasoi scheme, we are providing good quality food for just Rs. 8 for the poor. Also, from December 18, we have launched the Jan Kalyan web portal whereby people can access forms and details of all government schemes at one site. We still have three years to take Rajasthan to new heights of development.
Farmers even from Rajasthan are currently staying outdoors even in winter nights demanding the repeal ofthe farm laws. How do you see this farmers’ protest?
Dialogue is essential in every democracy and if you want to make fresh laws you must discuss them with all stakeholders. Sadly, the central government held no consultations with farmers before passing such sweeping laws. We enacted bills against these laws but the governor has not yet forwarded them to the President. Despite repeated requests, even the President is not giving any time to meet CMs like us. Though farmers in Punjab kept protesting for four months, the Centre held no talks with them. Due to no dialogue, farmers are protesting in this cold wave for over three weeks. I salute the indomitable spirit of the farmers who are fighting for their rights.
In the panchayat elections, the Congress had a setback but it did well in the urban municipal bodies. How do you see these results?
In the panchayat elections, the Congress did not lose as we got more votes than the BJP and we have the same number of pradhans as the BJP. In these 21 districts, the BJP had won 61% votes in the Lok Sabha elections but now they have got just 43% votes. Due to corona protocols, we did not send our senior leaders to campaign but the BJP even sent its union ministers who kept flouting corona guidelines. In the municipal elections, the BJP has lagged behind even the Independents and got a majority in just four of the 50 urban bodies. People have rejected the BJP’s negative politics and blessed our efforts with success.
The political crisis that erupted in July-August after Sachin Pilot’s revolt made national headlines. How do you see that challenge now?
Ever since the BJP came to power in 2014, it has been plotting to bring down governments led by opposition parties. For this they have used all kinds of dubious methods, including misuse of the governor’s office in many states to bring down state governments. They succeeded in their nefarious designs in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Bihar, Manipur, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. But due to the unity of our MLAs and the blessings of our people, we prevented their efforts to topple the government. Our MLAs have shown that money and muscle power can be resisted.
You have recently said the BJP is again trying to topple your government. BJP leaders failed in their designs but they are so power hungry that they keep trying to topple our government on a daily basis but I am confident we will complete the full five years. Some of their people had played similar games in the past during Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s tenure but I was PCC chief and prevented their evil designs. When the BJP tried to topple our government, even some of their own senior leaders like Kailash Meghwal warned them not to try such dirty tricks in Rajasthan.
Corona is a big challenge, how do you analyse your management of the pandemic?
Our corona management has been appreciated not only in the country but all over the world as we turned that challenge into an opportunity. As a result, today we have ICU beds and oxygen facilities in every district level hospital and we have increased the total ventilators by five times of the earlier number. We have testing labs in every district and have a capacity of 60,000 RTPCR tests daily. Besides fixing rates for private hospitals, we are providing free facilities, including injections costing even Rs 40,000 to poor patients. No wonder, corona is under control in our state and the ‘Bhilwara Model’ has been appreciated all over the world.
How are you managing the economic crisis that corona has created?
After the Covid crisis, our tax collections have seen a sharp dip and we asked the Centre to give us a special economic package. But instead of helping us, the Centre only gave a new name to their budget announcements and called it a new package which has served no purpose at all. They called it an act of God and asked us to borrow from the markets. The Centre is not even giving our GST dues for several months. Far from helping states, the Centre has left us to fight the pandemic all alone. With our own efforts, we are doing our best to counter this economic crisis.
What are your top priorities for the future?
What help can people look forward to from your government on the corona vaccine front? Getting the corona vaccine quickly will be one of our top priorities. We have asked the Centre to provide it for free so that even the poorest people can be helped. We have made a plan to ensure that the corona vaccine reaches everyone in the state at the earliest. We have sent suggestions to the Centre to ensure that the people get the best service.