Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was seen taking a potshot not only at the opposition but also at his opponents (dissenters) in his own party Congress on Wednesday. The style of making repartees had poetic overtones. While presenting the Budget in the Assembly, Chief Minister Gehlot was eloquent and displayed a sharp oratory in the form of shayari laced with satirical potshots with verses in Hindi and Sanskrit.
He tried to woo all sections of society. But at the same time, in the Budget speech Chief Minister Gehlot did make it a point to send out a message to the opposition and his detractors that he is not ready to give up. He was seen sipping water seven times during the speech in what is understood to be a symbolic way to target former CM Vasundhara Raje over the issue of drinking water in the desert state. In a message to the BJP-led opposition, the Chief Minister announced that he will make drinking water available to every single household. However, the Central government is claiming to have provided water to the majority of households. It seems that the BJP will showcase this as a big achievement during the next general elections.
Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the responsibility of water to Rajasthan MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who is the Union minister of Jal Shakti. Shekhawat hails from Gehlot’s Jodhpur area. He was quite talked about when the Gehlot government was facing trouble. Shekhawat is also said to be one of the central figures in the politics of BJP in Rajasthan. He is also known to be close to the high command but the much-awaited cabinet expansion will help observers to understand his closeness with the high command.
Chief Minister Gehlot has allocated a budgetary provision of Rs 478 crore for pure drinking water. His government’s budget has focused on agriculture, health, and education. The Chief Minister has also tried to woo the youth. In what is said to be the longest budget speech ever, Chief Minister Gehlot has indicated that he is ready to take on the opponents more aggressively. “Mere hausalon mein abhi bahut jaan baaki hai, ye to daud bhar thi abhi udaan baaki hai, meri saadgi se mere baare mein andaza mat lagana, yeh to shuruaat bhar thi anzam abhi baaki hai,” he said. Political observers interpret it as a message that “his simplicity should not be misconstrued as him being a naïve person rather he is ready to take everything head-on.”
In the past two years, Chief Minister Gehlot had to deal with the “problems created by both the opposition and his own party leaders”. Over a dozen MLAs led by former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot had added to his problems. The BJP and some Central Ministers’ role was doubted. Chief Minister Gehlot somehow managed to save his government.
The Chief Minister announced many schemes and budgetary allocations to woo common people, keeping in view the measures to deal with the situation resulting from Covid-19. He kept in mind the upcoming byelections in four assembly seats. Chief Minister Gehlot gave out a message to the opposition leaders that they can’t destabilise his government which will complete its term and retain power in the next elections again. “Nigahon mein manzil thi, gire aur girkar sambhalte rahe. Hawaon ne bahut koshish ki, magar chirag andhiyon me bhi jalte rahe.” This is how Gehlot drove home the message.