BJP state president Madan Rathore, while talking to the media at his residence in Pali on Wednesday, targeted the Congress fiercely. He said that the foundation of gravel mafia in Rajasthan was laid during the tenure of the Congress government and it was “Sri Ganesh” under the rule of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Rathore claimed that the BJP government has given contracts to make gravel mining regular and transparent and now strict action is being taken against the mafia.
Rathore said, “When the Congress was in power, the network of illegal gravel mining flourished across the state. At that time there was neither action nor accountability. But now our government has given gravel contracts with full transparency and strict action is being taken against those who are involved in illegal mining.”
He said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, the state government is working in mission mode to curb illegal mining. Raids have been conducted in several districts, machines have been seized and FIRs have been lodged on many mafia. Rathore said that the government will not tolerate illegal business at any cost.
During the interaction with the media, Rathore also said that the objective of the BJP government is to use the resources of the state properly and the revenue received from them should be spent in the good of the public. He claimed that after the arrival of the BJP government, there has been transparency and accountability in the mining sector, which has curbed corruption.
Targeting the previous Congress government, Rathore said that the gravel mafia had political patronage at that time. He raised the question of how the gravel of thousands of crores disappeared during the tenure of Gehlot government and why no concrete steps were taken.
On this occasion, Rathore also informed about the preparations of the party regarding the upcoming panchayat and civic elections and said that the BJP organization is strong and the public’s trust remains with the party.
After the state president’s statement, once again the politics of gravel mining in the state has become hot. The Congress is yet to react to this, but the BJP has made it clear that now illegal mining people will not be spared.
