CM wants govt to list feats, BJP up in arms

Calling for a meeting, the notice states: ‘‘In order to compile progress regarding implementation of Congress Election Manifesto (1998) and important decisions taken by the government during the last four-and-a-half years as circulated by the CM office, the date and time for the meetings has been scheduled for various departments.’’

Having stated that, the circular gets down to specifics, directing all secretaries to collate ‘‘year-wise information in a point-wise tabular form’’ and list out the ‘‘progress on important decisions made by the government pertaining to your department’’. The notice further specifies that all the write-ups should be in both Hindi and English, besides instructing all officials attending the meeting to carry a floppy with the same information.

While officials state the circular and subsequent two meetings were routine affairs, BJP state chief Vasundhara Raje has shot off a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner stating that Gehlot and the Congress were misusing official manpower.

‘‘But that isn’t the case,’’ explains A.K. Singh, Secretary of the Programme and Implementation Department. ‘‘When the Gehlot government came to power, the Congress election manifesto was accepted as a government document by the Cabinet and its points were incorporated in various programmes. Ever since, half-yearly reviews have been carried out and the October meetings were part of that.’’

The BJP is not buying the argument. According to them, Gehlot is using government machinery for his party. Questioning the timing of the meetings and indicating that Gehlot would use the data collected during his campaign to highlight his government’s achievements, the BJP has asked for ‘‘strict and quick measures’’.

Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the reports, the state Election Commission has initiated its own inquiry. ‘‘I am looking into the matter even though I have not received any formal complaint yet,’’ says State Chief Election Officer Lalit Kothari. ‘‘Technically, once the election schedule is announced, publicity of the ruling party’s work should not be done at the government’s cost. The merits of this case will have to be checked.’’