People of Rajasthan are unfortunate that such a person is leading them: Shekhawat targets Gehlot over wrong budget
Feb 10, 2023
New Delhi [India], February 10 : Union Jal Shakti Minister and Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday took a jibe at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and said that it was unfortunate for the people of the state to have such a leadership after the latter read the old Budget in the Rajasthan Assembly.
Shekhawat lashed out at the CM and said, "It is the misfortune of the people of Rajasthan that such a person is leading them. How safe is the state in the hands of such a leader?"
"The head of the state has been talking about his budget to be announced for the last 6 months. For the last 15 days, continuous advertisements are being done regarding the budget. The Chief Minister may not even be aware of the original text of the budget that he was about to read. He simply starts reading by picking up the budget for the previous year. The people of Rajasthan have also seen him and it is the misfortune of the people of Rajasthan that such a person is leading them," he added.
The minister further questioned the intervention by the Cabinet minister during the presentation of the budget.
Shekhawat said, "The issue is not only this. You can see in the video, as I have seen on television, that a fellow cabinet minister comes from behind and tells the Chief Minister in his ear that you are reading last year's budget. My question here is that when the Chief Minister himself does not know whether he is reading this year's or last year's budget, then how did a cabinet minister come to know that the budget being read is last year's?"
"This means that the ministers knew the details of the budget. If he knew, how was he aware? Who else had this information? The Rajasthan government should answer this. Was the budget leaked and if it was leaked then what are its side effects? The Chief Minister should definitely disclose this too," he added.
On Friday, opposition BJP members protested in the Rajasthan Assembly alleging that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was reading from the old budget.
House proceedings resumed in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly after CM Gehlot apologised for reading the old Budget.
CM Ashok Gehlot presented budget 2023 after he said, "I feel sorry, what happened was by mistake." The opposition alleged that CM read the old budget at the start of the budget presentation.
