Ashok Gehlot fears Jat backlash

During his recent two-day visit to Rajasthan, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi disagreed with state party chief Chandrabhan that there would be a neck and neck contest with the BJP. "I would have agreed with Chandrabhan if he had said so about a year back. But the recent schemes launched by the government have taken the Congress far ahead. " However, who knows better than chief minister Ashok Gehlot that the single factor, among others, that could prove Rahul's assessment wrong were Jat sentiments against him. It is not without reason that his detractors led by colonel (retired) Sona Ram, a Jat, were given patient hearing more than once by both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul.

Recently, at a grand function in Jaipur, one of Gehlot's detractors, former minister and state Congress vice-president Dr Hari Singh, who had recently resigned from the party, joined the BJP. At the function held on the lawns of an educational institution of the Jat community, Raje was facilitated in the presence of former union minister Natwar Singh, also a Jat. Natwar though, decided not to join the BJP but reminded he had already given his son to the service of the BJP. The Congress officially dismissed the event, calling the two former Congress leaders as spent forces, but Gehlot is perhaps aware of its possible fallout.

During the ongoing roadshow of his yatra, Gehlot looked uncertain about the electoral impact of his myriad schemes: pensions to targeted sections, certain free medicines and medical tests in government hospitals; laptops, scooty, tablet PCs to students; and saris and blankets for the BPL and equivalent families. After reminding people of all these schemes he goes on to ask the audience, "What should I do to make you feel happy (read give votes)?" "You will get whatever you wish," he told a gathering of Muslims while inaugurating Haj House in Jaipur.

Why this desperation after ruling the state for about four and a half years? The answer lies in his past experience. In 1998 assembly elections, Congress bagged 150 seats in the house of 200. Gehlot then became chief minister for the first time. However, the subsequent election in 2003 was Congress's waterloo as its tally whittled down to 50 and BJP led Vasundhara Raje took over with 113 BJP legislators.

One of the main reasons for Congress's debacle was failure to assuage the feeling of hurt felt by the Jat community, its traditional support base. Though the single largest population among the farming community and despite sending the single largest chunk of legislators, a member from that community was never considered for the top slot in the government.

1998 was no exception in this context when Congress's Jat strongman Paras Ram Maderna-a strong contender for the top job lost the race to Gehlot. In the current house of 200 there are 29 Jat MLAs of whom 16 won on Congress tickets while eight on the BJP and five others. Of the five, two legislators who won as independents are with the Congress government- one holding a ministerial berth while the other is a parliamentary secretary.

Moreover, they have electoral importance in about 10 of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies. Of the six Lok Sabha members belonging to the community from the state five belong to Congress.

With this in background, it was alleged that Gehlot avoided taking any action despite reportedly knowing that the slain nurse Bhanwari Devi, belonging to Nat community, had tried to blackmail the then water resources minister Mahipal Maderna on the basis of a sex CD.

It sent a damaging message to the Jat masses. She was killed in 2011, allegedly at Maderna's behest and on the direction of another blackmail victim, Congress legislator Malkhan Singh. With Malkhan, she had a decade old affair. Both are in jail and facing trial.

This perception has naturally added to Gehlot's worries. Quite expectantly, Raje, married to the former Jat ruler of Dholpur, is not missing any opportunity to exploit the community's sentiments. Though some observers opine that with his plethora of welfare schemes, Gehlot was able to check the party's slide Gehlot himself appears unsure.'

Joshi given clean chit in IPL case

Anti corruption Bureau (ACB) of the state police has given clean chit to Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and union minister C.P. Joshi and few others in a case of alleged financial irregularities during the fifth session of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The ACB has submitted its final report (FR) to this effect before Jaipur's additional district judge Om Prakash Gupta of the Special Court For Anti Corruption. In its report, the ACB said it didn't find any irregularity as was alleged. The case will come up before the court for hearing on June 17 when the complainant's side would be heard.

ACB had decided to investigate the matter following a court order on April 10 to initiate primary inquiry into the complaint by one Prem Narayan Sanadhya, a resident of Rajsamand district's Kankroli town.

The complainant had alleged an arbitrary decision by the RCA to allot work contract worth Rs 2.3 crore to Sakshyam Event Company for the eight IPL matches in Jaipur last year without tendering.

For politician these days, interim bail in a criminal case is not less than acquittal.

Rajasthan BJP veteran and leader of opposition in assembly Gulab Chand Kataria (in the picture) last week got interim bail till June 14 from a sessions court in Mumbai in the infamous 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. After the CBI named him in the chargesheet he had to withdraw from Raje's road show for obvious reasons. On Friday, while rejoining Raje he gushed to audience, "It (CBI charge sheet) was a conspiracy to separate us on election eve. It has been foiled."

Alva admonishes teachers

Governor Margaret Alva, known for her plain speaking, fired a salvo targeting both state administration and the teaching community on Monday when she referred to the increasing reluctance of teachers going to the rural areas. "Official records show that a teacher getting Rs 20,000 a month sublets his job to somebody for Rs 15000 and pockets Rs 5000; and the second person (teacher!) further sublets it for Rs 10,000. The job is further given to another person for Rs 5000 who, in turn, sublets it for Rs 2000 to someone else who works as regular teacher," she pointed out. And during inspection the original teacher is found at the school, she added. "If this is the state of affairs how can quality of education be ensured," she wondered. As if substantiating her point, she referred to surveys revealing that a class 5 child couldn't read or do addition in maths.

She was delivering the valedictory address at a conference of college and university teachers at Mount Abu. She also talked about degenerating moral fibre and social evils like dowry. One hopes, being a representative of the central government and constitutional head of the largest state of the country, she would also take up these issues with the political authorities at proper level to introspect. Will She?