Jaipur: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that Congress' formula of guarantees will leave the country bankrupt, saying public welfare schemes are aimed at public work. Gehlot went on to urge Modi to pass a legislation in Parliament to ensure social security for all citizens of India.
"Social security is our primary focus. We are giving pension to 1 crore people under our social security schemes. We are doing an all-round development here with a record performance in the fields of health and education. The prime minister should bring a legislation in Parliament so as to ensure social security of people across the country," Gehlot said after inaugurating schemes and laying foundation stones of projects amounting to Rs 1378 crore through video conferencing in Jaipur.
During his visit to Ajmer and Pushkar as a public outreach programme yesterday, Modi had mocked Congress over the recent guarantees given for Karnataka, where the party had won last month and said that by fulfilling those guarantees the country would become bankrupt. Also, on the Rajasthan Congress' guarantees, Modi said the party misleads the poor and deprives the people.
With the state going for polls later this year, the Congress-led government on Wednesday announced electricity upto 100 units of consumption free for all people from June 1. The scheme, which is among the promises made in the budget speech will benefit around 1.25 crore domestic consumers.
Also Read: Power upto 100 units free for all in Rajasthan from today: CM Ashok Gehlot
During the event, Gehlot questioned as to how the country can go bankrupt due to the guarantees that were being given for the welfare of the citizens. He said that taking loans for the development of the state and the country is not a bad thing. The Modi government at the Center took a loan of Rs 1 lakh crore during its nine-year tenure, he said
Deliberating on the government's social security schemes, Gehlot said that an insurance of Rs 25 lakhs under Chiranjeevi Yojana has been given to the people. "This is an ongoing scheme and we have already passed the Right to Health Bill. The discount that the government is providing is not restricted only for the election period but it exists round the year," he said.
According to Gehlot, if the social security schemes are announced with an eye on the election then these could be called freebies but in Rajasthan, all schemes are ongoing and for the people throughout the year. He said that Rajasthan is being praised across the country and abroad for the progress that the state has made. But, BJP only sees the flaws, he added.
Arguing on the Prime Minister's bankruptcy jab, he said that all governments work by taking loans. "The state government takes loans after getting permission from the Centre and the amount is spent on the state's development. So, what is the reason behind this objection?" he questioned. Gehlot said in 2014, when Modi became PM, the country had a debt of Rs 55000 crores and now the figure has gone up to Rs 155000 crores.
