 "Shah behind fall of Cong govt in MP, tried to do it in Rajasthan: Gehlot")
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of being involved in the fall of Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and trying to do it in Rajasthan too last year.
Gehlot made the allegation while referring to the crisis over the stability of his government in 2020 and said the Congress MLAs stayed in hotels for a long time but the present government is in place only with the blessings of the people.
"The Home Minister could not do anything, said Gehlot, without naming Shah.
He had a lot of arrogance over Madhya Pradesh but the people of Rajasthan shattered his arrogance, asserted Gehlot.
Is it a way to act in a democracy -- bringing down governments?' he asked.
In which direction the country is going? Nobody knows. Today the Constitution and democracy are in danger. The situation is very serious. Every person will have to think," the chief minister added.
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Gehlot made the remarks while addressing a state-level teacher award ceremony at Birla Auditorium here.
The chief minister also targeted the Centre over the rising prices of petrol and diesel.
He said when the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government was at the Centre, it did not allow the fuel prices to rise and kept its prices under check despite high crude oil prices in the international market.
But under the current NDA government, the prices of oil and diesel have increased rapidly despite crude oil prices falling heavily in the international market.
And for the state's reluctance to cut down the VAT on fuels despite the Centre slashing excise on diesel and petrol by Rs 10 and Rs 5 respectively, he cited the fall in the state's share of revenue due to the Centre's cutting down the fuel prices.
"Now when the Centre has reduced the petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10, the revenue of the state government has automatically reduced by Rs 1,800 crore in the same proportion, said Gehlot.
Now we have demanded from the Centre that if inflation is to be reduced, you should reduce fuel prices by Rs 10 and Rs 15 more. They are making states compete amongst themselves," he added.
"So far, about one lakh government jobs have been given in Rajasthan and the process of giving about 80,000 jobs is going on," Gehlot added.
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