'We Will Not Allow Any Disturbance Like Gujarat'

The full transcript of the BBC Hindi Special Programme, Aapki Baat BBC Ke Saath with Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot. The topic for the programme was: What has the government done to provide relieffrom drought in the state and for removal of poverty during five years?

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: Rajasthan is known to be struggling for drought relief and reduction of poverty.You have been at thehelm of affairs for five years, with what achievements are you going to face the electorate?

Ashok Gehlot : My five year tenure has been exemplary, despite the famine and drought like situation in the state along with the difficult financial situation in the state, the developmental work continued, and theway drought situation was handled – it is the people of the state who feel that this government worked.

BBC listener from Sriganganagar : With elections round the corner, your sincere individual efforts are beingprojected as the overall efforts of the government, to boost its image. Don’t you think your one man armyproves that your overall ministry was inefficient?

Ashok Gehlot : Well, I believe that success or failure of any government depends on team work.. We succeededin tackling the difficult situations of drought because the entire team of elected public representatives fromsarpanch right upto the Chief Minister, all worked tirelessly. We managed to save the lives of cattle, made life of people of the state easy, because there was no let-upin the relief work.

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: But there were serious allegations of corruption against some of the ministers of your cabinetduring the five years ?

Ashok Gehlot : The opposition in the state could not find any issue in the five years. When any allegation islevelled against any minister, the facts should be brought out. There was a concerted effort to malign mygovernment, a vicious campaign was lunched in the press on the issue of corruption, but not even a singlescandal could be brought out to point a finger at my government. All over the world, whether it is Rajasthan or any other state, be it bureaucracy or any other part ofmachinery, no one is fully immune from corruption, but this government made sincere efforts to curb the menaceof corruption, and the results are there for all to see.

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: Rajasthan Congress has been facing severe infighting in five years. Are you facing electionsunitedly now or as a divided house?

Ashok Gehlot : See there is infighting in every party and in every state. But if there is less infighting in anystate in India, then it is Rajasthan. Congress is fighting the elections in Rajasthan as one, and the results will show this to the world.

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: Mr Gehlot, before coming to power in 1998, your slogan was transparency. But what was the reasonthat the properties of ministers and ruling party MLAs were not declared throughout five years? What are thecompulsions in not declaring what our elected representatives have?

Ashok Gehlot : See there are two things. I had appealed to the assembly speaker that a provision be made in whichthe MLA who wins and enters the house should declare his/her properties, but the opposition did not cooperate,and that's why this could not move forward. 

So far as the ruling party ministers are concerned, I have myself maintained the records of their assetsand liabilities. I did not declare them, as this work has to done on an equal footing. Now since the Supreme Court ruling has come, I feel vindicated on my stand on transparency, as now thecandidates will have to furnish an affidavit of their property while filing nomination papers. This will beimplemented in the assembly elections to five states, which should settle the issue.

BBC listener from Osaka (Japan) : Whatever you may claim, but the reality is that your government has playedwith the future of the children just to improve your literacy figures. In more than fifty percent of theprimary schools in the state there are just one-two teachers. Do you think that literacy and education are onething? Next on the employment front your government recruited para-engineers, doctors etc. Despite having a wholelot of trained professionals, you opted for ad-hoc arrangement. Why ?

Ashok Gehlot : I think sitting so far, you probably have been given wrong information. In 1991 census, Rajasthanwas ranked last in India, in terms of literacy. We made a conscious effort to improve this and to encouragechildren to go to school. More than 23 lakh children were out of schools, today I have pride in saying morethan 21 lakh children are going to schools under the scheme – shiksha aapke dwaar par [Education at yourdoorstep]. 

I feel thatwithout spreading the light of literacy, there is no future for the state. And with this scheme, we generated employment – we decided that educated people would teach in theirrespective villages, under the scheme launched in the name of Rajiv Gandhi. Such schools were not differentfrom any of the regular schools.

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: But what do you say on the employment front ? If there were vacancies, why go for such an ad-hocarrangement, why not regularise such jobs?

Ashok Gehlot : We are doing it. We have doubled the salaries of these para-teachers from Rs 1,000 toRs 2,000.We are going to enhance it further and after they complete four years of service they will be regularised.There is a stay by the High Court in this matter, once that is lifted, we would go ahead. We have generated one lakh thirteen thousand jobs in these five years in education and about forty thousandof these have been regularised. I reject this charge of no employment.

BBC listener from Jaipur : During the five years, your government has done nothing on the employment front.There has been a freeze on the recruitment in government sector. So much so that even the state administrativeservices exams were held after four years. No efforts were undertaken to attract private investment, so thatemployment avenues could be created..

Ashok Gehlot : I appreciate your views, but look at the situation in the entire country, even the NDA governmentat the Centre promised one crore jobs - but what happened ? Ever since, the liberalisation era began, the jobs in government sector have been going down.But Rajasthan government succeeded in giving one lakh thirteen thousand jobs in these five years.

On the other hand, we have succeeded in opening 23 private engineering colleges in the state, dental andmedical colleges are coming up. We are working to build infrastructure in the state, which I feel is the key to inviting private investmentin the state. At the moment, the economy at the world level is passing through a stage of recession, we areworking to prepare the state in a way when the economic situation looks up, there is foreign as well asdomestic investment in the state.

BBC listener from Ganganagar : During last two-three years, cities and towns have been getting almostnormal electricity supply, but why not the villages?  They get only eight to ten hours of electricity duringthe nights? Why this discrimination?

Ashok Gehlot : Well, see electricity in urban areas has been there for a long time now, maintaining a normalsupply there is a challenge in itself. But what happened during the eight year tenure of BJP from 1990 to1998 was that a large number of connections were given , but not even one MW of electricity generation wasdone. In that period, the demand went up, but there was no generation.

Our government has achieved a record of making Rajasthan the number one state in electricity production inthe country. I can say with authority during my tenure there has been a hundred percent increase in theelectricity generation as compared to the past fifty years. We have given eight lakh connections out of which more than one lakh twenty five thousand have been for thefarmers, others include domestic and industry. We are trying to balance the electricity supply and ensure atleast twelve hour supply in the villages, from evenings to mornings. It is possible that there could bemanagement errors at some places, but we are looking into these.

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: Mr Gehlot, you are claiming successes, during your tenure, but overall this state is seen asstruggling for basic infrastructure, roads, electricity etc., what do you say?

Ashok Gehlot : See, I am claiming success on the basis of work done. I have told you Rajasthan is at the top inelectricity generation. The roads network is expanding, under the Prime Minister’s rural road network,Rajasthan has done the maximum, attaining 69 percent of the target, we are surging ahead in North India inroads.

The problem is that this state has been a backward one since independence. In about more than fifty yearssince independence, 45 years have seen a severe drought here. But now we are on the developmental path, andour emphasis would be this now.

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: Mr Gehlot, when BJP was in power in the state, your main allegation was that thegovernment then wastaking a large number of loans to run the state, but now you are at managing the state, and you have yourselftaken loans...

Ashok Gehlot : You are right. But when I became the chief minister, I inherited a huge debt of more than twentyfour thousand crores, and there was nothing in the name of development. I was faced with the difficulty ofrepaying these loans and the state government was forced to take more loans to repay these and in some casesthe interest on these loans.

We worked on the development front, and see that we got an investment plan of more than seven crore forelectricity generation, we expedited the developmental plans in education, health, roads, etc. Therefore you are right that the state’s debts have gone up, that is for the reason which I have justgiven you. But at the same time look at the development work taken up in all 32 districts of the state. Ourgovernment has not curtailed any grants for the developmental works, at all.

BBC listener from Kuwait : Why did your government not provide reservation to Muslims ?

Ashok Gehlot : You are mistaken. We have provided reservation to 23 backward castes among the Muslims in thestate. So far as the other backward castes (OBCs) are concerned, they maybe of any religion, Hindu, Sikh,Muslim or Christian, -- our government has made a provision for 23 percent reservation on economic criterion,this has been approved by the Centre, and the Prime Minister has assured that the Centre will amend theConstitution accordingly. So there would be no discrimination against anyone.

BBC listener from Alwar : Our state suffers from regular droughts, why is the government not seriouslythinking in implementing new irrigation schemes ?

Ashok Gehlot : The state government has been trying new methods, whether it be the drip irrigation method or thefountain type or sprinkler type irrigation. In some places such methods have succeeded , whereas in someplaces it has not been so successful. But the government is trying, in about one lakh food for job works, more than fifty percent were dedicatedto irrigation only !

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: Mr Gehlot, Rajasthan is on the world map of tourism, but the lack of basic infrastructure is a bigimpediment in the development of this state. The successive state governments, including yours, have failed inprojecting a good image of the state, what is your view?

Ashok Gehlot : You are right to an extent. That is why I am saying that the stress of our government has been onbuilding an infrastructure network. To improve such a network, for six divisional headquarters, we have takena loan of Rs 1,750 crore from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

BBC listener from Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan) : There is no government college in this district headquarter, whyare you opening colleges in the private sector in the state?

Ashok Gehlot : See in this liberalisation era privatisation has become essential, if we are to improve theinfrastructure in the state, human resources have to be developed. So far as this thing of colleges is concerned, there are no plans for opening more colleges in thegovernment sector right now. What is important is the spread of education. I feel that Jhunjhunu is doing wellin education, and we should keep it up.

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: But should there be privatisation of education in a poor state like Rajasthan?Can people affordexpensive education?

Ashok Gehlot : See there are government run schools and colleges also, we are not closing any of suchinstitutions. What I am saying is that if there is privatisation, there will be employment generation. Theidea is to create opportunities, open law colleges, engineering colleges etc., if someone is ready to investand the state benefits in terms of development of human resources, why not?

Nagendar Sharma, BBC: If re-elected as chief minister, what will be your priorities ?

Ashok Gehlot : Our priority will be to tackle unemployment. It is a national problem, but we will try to createjobs. The law-order situation in the state is good, and the communal forces have not been allowed to raisetheir head. We will continue the efforts to restore brotherhood in this state, and we will not allow anydisturbance like Gujarat at any cost, this is our resolve. I have mentioned building of infrastructure. To attract more and more investment. Education and health willcome next.