The issue of abolition of 9 of the 17 new districts and 3 divisions rocked the Rajasthan assembly for the second day on Thursday, with opposition Congress members trooping into the well, raising slogans and forcing a brief adjournment of the House.

The issue was raised during the zero hour when two Congress legislators Suresh Modi and Ramkesh Meena were allowed to speak on the matter.

Advertisement

Modi, an MLA from Neem Ka Thana, accused the BJP government of resorting to political discrimination and adopting a vindictive approach while deciding on the abolition of districts formed by the then Congress government in 2023.

He said that the norms laid down for taking a decision on this matter were not abided by and that political motives served as the basis for the abolition of Neem Ka Thana district and Sikar division.

Elaborating on the point, Modi said, “All three BJP MPs and 14 of 21 party MLAs from the Shekhawati region lost their elections, which the ruling party leadership could not (obviously) relish.

He said that the government acted on a “pick and choose” policy and did not bother to take into account the interests of the local people.

Hence, the government should revoke its decision as well as the notification issued for the abolition of 9 new districts and 3 divisions, Modi said.

Another Congress member, Ramkesh Meena of Gangapur City, was unhappy about the revocation of the district status to Gangapur City. Meena said those who were inducted into the district review committee were pre-determined and had made up their minds against the creation of 27 new districts. They did not even examine the norms and criteria laid down on the issue.

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joga Ram Patel refuted the allegations and reiterated the ruling party’s stance on the issue.

He said, “Ahead of the assembly election in 2023, the Congress acted on this issue with the motive of securing as many votes as possible to retain its government. In the process, it formed so many districts to appease its local MLAs as well as the local people.

This evoked strong resentment from the opposition benches, and pandemonium broke out in the House.

Leader of the opposition Tikaram Julie said that instead of convincing members through logic and reasoning, the minister made a purely political statement.

The opposition members mobbed the well and resorted to raising slogans. This forced Speaker Vasudev Devnani to adjourn the House till 1400 hrs.

On Wednesday too, the House witnessed uproar, slogan chanting, and adjournment over this issue.