Rajasthan being run by Centre through remote control, says ex-CM Gehlot

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday accused the Centre of governing the state through remote control and undermining the authority of the elected chief minister.

The state doesn't seem to have a government for the last three months, he alleged.

He said that ministers are not able to appoint their private secretaries according to their wish and the Centre is implementing the Gujarat model in Rajasthan.

"It's been two-three months of the BJP government in the state. There is a discussion in every household as to why there is no governance. I believe that only the chief minister cannot be blamed for it. It is a remote-controlled government which is against the spirit of democracy," Gehlot told reporters after moving into the new government bungalow from the official CM's residence, now allotted to the new incumbent.

He added, "An elected Chief Minister has authority, and the government is run by that authority and it provides good governance. They (Centre) have remote-controlled the government. The chief secretary is the de facto chief minister and I have heard that deputy chief ministers are more powerful than the chief minister."

Reacting to his statements, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said all three bodies of democracy are working together in the state whereas in the previous government, the power was divided between two centres apparently referring to the tussle between Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.

Gehlot earlier said if the authority of the chief minister is weakened, it's the public which will suffer the most. "The chief minister cannot govern without authority."

The Congress leader said there is a possibility that people in the BJP may be "conspiring" against Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.

"What do you want? The Prime Minister should answer this. What does the Prime Minister want in the country?" he asked.

"This is also an example of the dictatorial tendencies reining supreme in the country ... 'Double-engine' means both the engines should be of equal capacity but that is not the case here," Gehlot added.

Meghwal said that the BJP government led by Bhajanlal Sharma has worked more in two months as compared to the two months of the Gehlot government.

"All three bodies including legislature, executive and judiciary are working together in the state whereas in the previous Congress government, there were two power centres. One was led by Ashok Gehlot whereas the other was led by Sachin Pilot," Meghwal said.