Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot sacks minister Rajendra Gudha
Jaipur, Jul 21: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday sacked Rajendra Gudha as minister of state, hours after he cornered the state government in the assembly over law and order.
Gudha held charge as Minister of State for Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development.
A Raj Bhavan spokesperson said, "Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recommended Governor Kalraj Mishra to dismiss member of council of ministers Rajendra Gudha in the evening. The governor has accepted this recommendation with immediate effect."
Gudha on Friday questioned his own government's performance in reining in crimes against women, even as his peers slammed the Manipur violence.
During the discussion on the Rajasthan Minimum Income Guaranteed Bill, 2023, in the Assembly, Congress MLAs waved placards on the Manipur violence. The protest, however, did not go down well with Gudha, who sought accountability from his own government on crimes against women.
"The way we have failed to provide security to women in Rajasthan and atrocities on women have increased, instead of raising the issue of Manipur, we should introspect," Gudha said in the assembly.
Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore latched onto Gudha's statement and slammed the state government, saying Rajasthan tops the chart for crimes against women.
Rathore later asked Gehlot, who is also the home minister, to take responsibility for the "poor" state of law and order in Rajasthan.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal responded to the charges, saying that the state government has supplied the House with the statistics that show that the maximum number of atrocities were committed on women during BJP rule.
Hours later, after a green signal from the Congress high command, Gehlot sent a recommendation to the governor to sack Gudha.
Following his sacking, Gudha told reporters that he was punished for speaking the truth.
"Rajasthan is at number one position in crimes against women. What did I say? I got the punishment for speaking the truth," he said.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the second day in a row on Friday following vociferous protests over the Manipur violence by opposition MPs. The Monsoon session started on Thursday, a day after a horrific video of two women being sexually assaulted and paraded by a mob on May 4 in a Manipur village went viral.
Earlier in the day, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat raised the issue of women's safety at a press conference and said Rajasthan has become a "completely failed state" with at least 17-18 rape cases being registered every day.
"As per media reports, every day 17 to 18 cases of rape and 5 to 7 cases of murder are registered in Rajasthan Extortion of businessmen is happening every day. Rajasthan is (in) number one position when it comes to crimes against women, crimes against children and atrocities on Dalits," Shekhawat said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.
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Chhattisgarh govt enforces austerity measures, restricts foreign travel and cuts convoy vehicles
Raipur (PTI): The Chhattisgarh government on Saturday rolled out a set of austerity measures, including restricted use of convoy vehicles for the chief minister, ministers and heads of state-run bodies, besides curbs on foreign travel at government expense.
The state has decided to implement the cost-saving steps with immediate effect to ensure efficient management of financial resources and discipline in public spending, said a directive issued by Finance Secretary Rohit Yadav.
The move follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for austerity amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The order said that only essential vehicles should be used in the convoys of the CM, ministers and office-bearers of corporations, boards and commissions, while ensuring restrained use of other government resources.
It also directed departments to take steps for a phased conversion of all official vehicles into electric vehicles in order to promote the use of EVs.
As part of fuel-saving measures, expenditure on petrol and diesel for government vehicles should be kept to a minimum, the directive said.
Vehicle pooling arrangements should also be implemented for officials of departments travelling to the same destination, it added.
The order further stated that foreign travel of government employees at state expenses will be completely prohibited except under extremely unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, prior approval of the CM will be mandatory.
To reduce administrative expenditure, departments have been instructed to hold physical meetings preferably only once a month and encourage virtual and online meetings. Regular departmental review meetings should compulsorily be conducted through video conferencing, it said.
The government also stressed the need for energy conservation in its offices, directing that all electrical equipment, including lights, fans, air-conditioners and computers, must be switched off after office hours.
The directive will remain effective till September 30 this year.
Amid the war involving the US, Israel and Iran, Modi has suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of EVs, utilising railway services for parcel movement and working from home to conserve foreign exchange.
