70% of Cong' pre-poll promises remain unfulfilled: Rajasthan BJP's Poonia

Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Satish Poonia on Saturday claimed more than 70 per cent of the Congress' pre-poll promises remain unfulfilled even after four-and-a-half years of the party coming to power in the state.

Due to the infighting within the Congress, the development of Rajasthan has come to a complete standstill and the youth, farmers and women are suffering, he charged.

"Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot says that 85 per cent of the promises have been fulfilled whereas the reality is that more than 70 per cent of the promises have remained incomplete for four-and-a-half years," Poonia said.

 

"People are not ready to tolerate the Congress government even for a moment. They are just waiting for the elections and preparations are on to bid farewell to the Congress government," he said.

Assembly elections are due in Rajasthan later this year.

Poonia alleged the Congress government did not make efforts to increase sources of income, investment, employment in government and private sectors.

If any minister speaks against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, then the minister is removed from their post. Similar action was taken against former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot for speaking against Gehlot, he said.

The BJP leader's remarks came a day after Gehlot sacked Rajendra Gudha as minister of state after he cornered the state government over the law and order situation in the assembly.

Gudha held charge as Minister of State for Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development. He had on Friday questioned his own government's performance in reining in crimes against women.

Rajasthan is leading in rapes, corruption cases, illegal mining, cybercrimes and paper leak incidents, Poonia claimed.

Rajasthan has the highest Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel in the country and a cabinet minister had said in the assembly that the "government has no intention" of reducing it, he added.

The BJP leader said 19 exam papers were leaked in Rajasthan and youths are disappointed.

"The chief minister is saying that the law has been made more strict to check paper leaks and a provision for life imprisonment has been made, but the dreams of lakhs of youths and their families have been shattered due to repeated paper leaks. What will the state government do for them," he asked.

Gehlot is afraid of getting a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted into the paper leak cases because the "paper leak mafia" includes many people part of the Congress government.

Corruption runs deep in the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) and it is clear from the involvement of an RPSC member in the paper leak scam that the Congress government has made it a hub of corruption.

RPSC member Babulal Katara was arrested in a paper leak case in April.