The two-day ‘Invest Rajasthan Summit’ augured well for both the Congress and the state government. On the one hand, the summit paved the way for the investment worth Rs 11 lakh crore which will also generate employment for 10 lakh youths in the state, while on the other it benefited Ashok Gehlot politically. After the success of the summit, the high command seems to be reposed faith in Ashok Gehlot and put an end to the recent political turmoil in the state. The summit also helped Congress counter the allegations that the grand old party is against industrialists. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra lauded Gehlot’s work, and with that the political uncertainty and confusion most likely came to an end.
Rahul said that he is not against Adani, but his opposition is to any kind of monopoly. The Rajasthan government took every step as per the rules. Rahul signalled that the party has now moved on, and whatever happened in the state some time back should be ignored now. The relations between the high command and Gehlot are normal like before. After the summit, Gehlot looked confident. The CM said that the state would welcome all industrialists as it requires employment and investments be it Gauram Adani, Mukesh Ambani or Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah. He also extended a warm welcome to industrialists such as Adani Group Chairman, Gautam Adani, Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal, Torrent Group Chairman Sudhir Mehta, DCM Chairman Ajay S Shriram, Anish Shah of Mahindra & Mahindra, Birla Group’s CK Birla, etc.
Gehlot also remained present on the dais when Adani and Mehta made several announcements to promote sports and health in Rajasthan. Rajasthan Cricket Association President Vaibhav Gehlot expressed gratitude to Adani and Mehta for the announcements to promote sports in the state. Gehlot succeeded in sending out a message that Rajasthan is on the fast track of growth. All the industrialists appreciated the chief minister’s efforts as well. This summit is being seen as the beginning of a big change in the policy of the party. The message from Rahul is that the party will not oppose anyone just for the sake of it. If there will be any complaint or any wrong done by anyone, then the party will raise its voice.
There is no denying that the pandemic affected the development of the state badly. So, this kind of summit was much-needed. The summit happened when a faction led by Sachin Pilot was trying to create pressure for a change of guard. But after this grand show of investment summit, the opponents may have realised Gehlot’s “magic”.