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State of affairs: Rajasthan

Raje hastens to mollify restive farmers

Farmers’ protests across the state have come as a shock to the Raje government preparing for the 2018 Assembly elections.

Raje hastens to mollify restive farmers

Farmers’ protests across Rajasthan have come as a shock to the Raje government preparing for the 2018 elections. file



Yash Goyal

Farmers’ protests across the state have come as a shock to the Raje government preparing for the 2018 Assembly elections. Apprehending a massive congregation under the banner of the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha in Jaipur on March 2, CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia has had to roll back the power tariff retrospectively from September 2016 besides announcing fresh incentives for the 11.5 lakh farmers, entailing an additional expenditure of Rs 500 crore.

While the BJP and the Congress are both claiming credit for it, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, an RSS-BJP frontal unit, has honoured the Chief Minister as if the success was theirs. Also, the Ajmer bandh against privatisation of electricity by people from all walks of life has had BJP MPs and MLAs worried.

Meanwhile, in view of the coming Dholpur Assembly byelection, Shobharani, wife of jailed BSP leader and former MLA BL Kushwaha, undergoing life imprisonment in a murder case, has joined the BJP. Raje is now confident the number of BJP MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha will go up.

Saffron cycles!

After introduction of Suryanamaskar, yoga exercises, revision of text books, change in history chapters and awards in the name of Hindu gods and goddesses, now saffron-coloured cycles will be given free to Class IX girl students by the Raje government. A sum of Rs 86.83 crore has been spent on the colouring —Rs 2,937 per cycle — drawing criticism from the Congress and Left parties.

Minority blocks

Jasbir Singh, State Minority Commission chairman, wants Jaisalmer and Srigangangar be declared "minority concentrated districts" with the minority population exceeding 25 per cent, as per the Census: 2011 census. There are 13 "minority concentrated blocks (MCBs)" in the state for which a budget of Rs148 crore has been earmarked.

Naim Rabbani of HelpingHand Foundation says 80 per cent of all religious minorities, especially Muslims, lag in socio-economic indicators while SCs/STs get a budgetary allocation almost equal to their population percentage. Hence, the budgetary allocation for minority groups should be higher during fiscal 2017-18.

Revenue shortfall

Rajasthan’s financial condition is getting grim. In the first six months (April-September) of 2016, there was a shortfall in revenue realisation through royalty on petroleum, VAT, stamp duty, and registration owing to the slowdown in real estate and the automobile sector.The government is likely to face difficulty in maintaining the fiscal deficit target under the FRBM Act, 2005, and this could have a cascading affect, the Finance Department has warned.

'Asthis kalash'

In a Barmer-Haridwar train, more than 70 per cent commuters book a ticket for "asthi kalash (container carrying ashes)" in the belief that the deceased will be travelling with them. No TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) dares to raise any objection.

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