Jaipur: Leaving no opportunity to attack the BJP in poll-bound Rajasthan, the Congress on Wednesday released a 'chargesheet' of 'failures' suffered by the Vasundhara Raje government in the last five years.
The 27-page 'Aarop Patra', a manifesto of allegations, lists down the state government’s fiascos in the past five years on various fronts including finance, agriculture, MGNREGA ((Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), women's safety, rural development, basic amenities such as electricity, water and health, and business growth.
Speaking at the Pradesh Congress Committee office, Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot said that despite having a government in the state as well as the centre, the BJP had failed the people who gave them absolute majority. "Five years is a long time and people forget the number. So it is important that we remind them about what the BJP government, which won 165 seats, has done," Pilot said.
The 'chargesheet', a copy of which News18 has obtained, claimed that the state's public debt had increased from Rs 1.9 lakh crore to Rs 3.10 lakh crore from the time BJP came in power till the time of 2018-19 budget.
"The Raje government has left the state and its people under pressure and emptied the treasure," Pilot said. The document also mentions that the centre had cut funding for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, midday meal and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana schemes in the state by Rs 143 crore, Rs 138 crore and Rs 271 crore respectively, between the years 2014-15 and 2018-19.
Pilot also raised the issue of farmer suicides and accused the BJP of refusing to accept farmers' distress as a legitimate issue. "The government claims personal troubles and land disputes were the reason behind farmer suicides," he said. The allegation document says that over 100 farmers had committed suicide in Rajasthan in the past five years due to debt. Most cases had been reported from Jhalawar, Baran, Kota and Bundi.
He said the MGNREGA scheme, that guarantees right to work, had gone lifeless in the state. The number of families that complete 100 days of employment under the scheme had come down from 4.69 lakh to 2.40 lakh during the BJP rule, the state Congress president claimed.
The 'chargesheet' also cited a report by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy that said Rajasthan had 13.7 percent unemployment -- more than twice that of the national average of 6.7 per cent.
Pilot also targeted the Raje government over women security and law and order and said that in spite of there being a woman CM at the helm, crimes against women were on the rise. Quoting from the ‘chargesheet’ he said in the past four years, an average of 10 rapes per day were reported in the state, a number that is third highest in the country. In 2018, the average had increased to 13 per day.
About BJP's ‘failures’ in the rural development, the document says 17 lakh rural families had constructed toilets in their homes, but were yet to receive payments from the government. It further accuses the BJP government of underperforming in the areas of electricity, drinking water, irrigation, roads and education.
The allegation document claims that the BJP had shut down 17,000 schools in the state. It also mentions that 5,300 schools in the state have only one teacher and 47 per cent schools do not have a playground and 42 per cent do not have electricity.
Pilot also accused the BJP of not working to grant Rajasthan a special state status despite there being a demand for it. He said that Congress would soon release its election manifesto to address the problems listed in the 'chargesheet'.
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