Drought in focus at Gehlot’s shivir

After being declared ‘‘CM no 1’’ by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at the Srinagar conclave, and the recent defeat in the b...

After being declared ‘‘CM no 1’’ by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at the Srinagar conclave, and the recent defeat in the by-elections forgotten, Gehlot received a hearty round of applause from his Cabinet colleagues as he sat down to preside the fourth chintan shivir of his ministers on Friday.

During the shivir he listened to ground reports on the drought situation, updated his flock on his visit to the Valley and began planning out a strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections. Even today, as in all past chintan shivirs, drought was the focus of the discussions. Gehlot’s minister, having spent some time in their respective areas and having assessed the drought situation, gave him an update of the situation.

Following the discussion on the issue, it was decided that with the heat wave showing no sign of letting up, the timings for drought relief work would be reduced by an hour. This comes in the wake of a series of similar drought-related decisions which Gehlot claims have helped the state survive its darkest hours.

Story continues below this ad

Besides initiating relief work as early as October 2002, Gehlot’s government is credited with linking the concept of minimum wages to drought relief work, ensuring that people get paid. The government also decided to reinitiate the hiring of teachers and doctors to fill up vacancies in villages. While the government’s decision to thaw the freeze on employment is regarded as a pre-poll package, the unemployed electorate is not complaining.

While the BJP is desperately looking for a reason to bring the Gehlot government down, so far, they haven’t made any headway. Even in the case of the murder charges filed against state Home Minister Gulab Singh Shektawat, Gehlot’s government preempted the problem and recommended a CBI inquiry before the BJP could get its act together.