Chief Minister Smt. Vasundhara Raje has said that while implementing the roadmap for development, her government considered public as the giver and partner in the making of new Rajasthan. Describing the differences in thinking of hers and the predecessor government, she said that if a government’s thinking was good, it could change the destiny of the state. She said that we were not considering development as a medium of politics, but politics as a tool for development to bring prosperity to the lives of the people of this state.

The CM, on Friday, was replying to the discussion on the Governor’s Address to the State Assembly. Highlighting all major issues like road, education, skill development, power, water, industrial development etc, she presented her government’s achievements in detail and draw a parallel with those of the previous government.

Describing the state government’s vision Smt. Raje said she dreamt of making Rajasthan a state which would be healthy, educated, prosperous, happy and without any gender discrimination, the one which would be empowered on economic as well as social fronts. She said that instead of political gains, she was working on this vision.

The Chief Minister said that the predecessor government considered itself as a giver and treated the public as the beggar. On the other hand, she was making all efforts to eradicate poverty from its roots so that everybody secured an equal share in the progress. She said that she would not wish to give smaller bites from a small cake to the people. However, she possessed the courage to make the cake itself very big, so that everybody could get his or her share out of it, she said.

Smt. Raje said that the previous government did not rationalize gram panchayats considering political fallouts, while this government did it and ensured opportunities for the younger generation by imposing minimum educational qualifications. This resulted in 68 percent elected public representatives to be 35 years of age, she said.

The CM said that the earlier regime neither made any reforms in power sector nor prepared a solid action plan to reduce losses, which resulted in a debt on the power distribution companies accumulating to 80,000 crore rupees.

“But, we did institutional reforms, procured power on cheaper rates and constituted separate companies to take loans from the market. Also, responsibility of the employees of the power companies was fixed by promulgating an ordinance,” she said.

She further asserted that today Rajasthan stood number one in solar energy production sector.

The CM termed the allegations of withdrawing free medicine and free diagnostic test scheme as baseless and stated that during the current year her government spent 360 crore rupees on health, which was the highest in past five years. Also, for mapping of health problems in order to ensure better treatment, the present government launched Arogya Rajasthan campaign across the state and surveyed 1.05 crore rural families, she said. During this campaign, till February 15, about 12.5 lakh patients were offered general treatment, while 89,000 others inflicted with serious illnesses were reffered to the big hospitals, she added.

Smt. Raje said that as early as in 2005-06, she proceeded for a financial inclusion scheme when nobody was talking about it.

“To ensure woman empowerment and financial inclusion, we started an ambitious Bhamashah Scheme during our first tenure itself, but due to political ill-will the previous government turned the same down,” she said.

Talking on the issue of petroleum refinery, the CM said that announcement of this project was made in haste to garner political benefits and the company was offered more subsidy than the entire cost of the project.

“We are still considering this project, proceeding to secure interests of the people and are in continuous dialogue with the HPCL,” she added.

Smt. Raje further said that the previous government took no action in regard to reservation for the economically backward classes considering political fallouts. But, she said, after resuming the office for the second time, this government invited a special session of the Assembly to pass a bill for reservation and constituted the Commission for Economically Backward Classes, which had already started its work.

The CM asserted that she had stated all truth and referred to a citation on the wall of the Assembly Hall,

“one must not either enter in Assembly Hall or he must speak there with all the righteousness, for one who does not speak or one who speaks falsely does involve himself in the equal sin”.

Jaipur, March 4, 2016