JAIPUR: A major political row has erupted in Rajasthan over the Gehlot government’s move to create 19 new districts in the election year.
While the Congress seems to have a clear intent of scoring political brownie points, the BJP claims that this is just an idle dream as the government does not have the budget to execute this announcement.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has surprised everyone with the move. Congress is hoping that with this major move, it will return to power in the state. However, the opposition BJP has alleged the real intention behind the decision by the Gehlot government is to meet "personal political ends."
Gehlot asserted in the assembly that "Rajasthan is the biggest state in the country in terms of geographical area. In some cases, the distance to the district headquarters is more than 100 km. People are unable to reach district headquarters easily and the administration, too, is unable to reach each and every family."
Gehlot has declared those areas as new districts where the Congress is weak and the BJP is strong, which has prevented the BJP from openly opposing this step. For instance, Congress has been unable to win in Ajmer’s Beawar area for a long time, but Gehlot has decided to make it a district.
Similarly, Congress is rather weak in Pali, Jalore and Sirohi districts but by making Pali the division headquarters and Sanchore (Jalore) a new district, Gehlot has avoided any criticism that he has favoured only Congress-influencing areas.