Rajasthan Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully on Thursday strongly criticised the recently presented state budget, calling it dull, misleading, a mirage of figures, and a financial burden that will push the state deeper into debt.
Addressing the budget discussion in the Assembly, Jully accused the government of failing the people by not implementing laws enacted by the previous Congress government. He condemned the government for obstructing discussions on the Governor’s address, stating that it deliberately avoided debate to hide its failures.
He remarked that if the Minister of State for Home had presented his statements in the House rather than outside, the deadlock could have been resolved, allowing the opposition to expose the government’s shortcomings.
“The government is deliberately suppressing voices, particularly those of Dalits, by not allowing me to speak,” he asserted.
Criticising the Chief Minister and Finance Minister for misleading the public, Jully highlighted inconsistencies in their budget claims.
He expressed concerns over the state’s rising debt, blaming the government’s poor financial management. He pointed out that despite earlier criticisms of Congress’ financial policies, the current government has resorted to reckless borrowing, taking loans worth approximately Rs 1.5 lakh crore in just two years.
“In your first year alone, you have increased the state’s debt by 46 per cent compared to our tenure. At this rate, by next year, every citizen of Rajasthan will be burdened with a debt of Rs 1 lakh,” he warned.
Furthermore, he highlighted the struggles of 22,848 differently-abled individuals, widows, and elderly citizens in Bharatpur who have not received pensions for the past four months, forcing them to make repeated rounds of government offices.
Jully urged the state government to set up a committee for the implementation of the Eighth Pay Commission to ensure salary and allowance benefits for state employees, following the central government’s announcement regarding the commission in the wake of the Delhi elections.
Calling the government’s ‘Rising Rajasthan’ initiative a deception, Jully alleged that the MoUs signed under the scheme were exaggerated and misleading.
“In Bharatpur alone, MoUs worth Rs 1,446 crore were signed for 59 projects, but 40 of these projects have been pending for over six months. Shockingly, even completed structures like the Grand Barso Hotel were included in the MoU list to artificially inflate investment figures,” he revealed.
He further alleged that investments in Jindal Hospital and Saini Hotel and Resort, which have been under construction for over six months, were falsely counted as new projects.
“The biggest so-called investment, Bhadoria University worth Rs 300 crore, is already fully constructed. This deception in the name of Rising Rajasthan must be investigated,” he demanded, urging the government to release a white paper exposing the truth.
