Raje govt patronised liquor, land and sand mafia in Rajasthan: Gehlot
Udaipur, Nov 24 : Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Saturday attacked Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on the issue of corruption and claimed that the state government led by her patronised liquor, land and sand mafia.
The AICC general secretary, who is contesting December 7 elections from Jodhpur's Sardarpura seat, is conducting electioneering in Mewar region for the party.
"No government in Rajasthan had ever patronised any mafia but the Vasundhara Raje government did that. Land, liquor and sand mafia flourished in her rule in connivance with officers and I blame that money has reached up to the top level," Gehlot told reporters here.
Raje bowed before the party president but never met people in five years. Instead of bowing before Shah, she should have taken care of the people of Rajasthan who gave such a huge mandate in 2013 elections, but she betrayed people, the former Rajasthan chief minister said.
Gehlot alleged that the BJP government in five years only worked to weaken schemes launched by former Congress government and stalled various important projects in the state.
During the Congress government rule, there were 25 lakh people engaged in MGNREGA works, but now the number has reduced to just 2.5 lakh, he said.
Gehlot alleged that the government spent crores of rupees on Resurgent Rajasthan and now the government should disclose that how much investment was made in the state in five years.
The Resurgent Rajasthan summit was held in 2015 to attract investment in the state.
Gehlot said the Ram temple was just an election issue for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP uses the name of Lord Rama during elections only. They have no genuine intention and they have been exposed before public now, he said.
Gehlot is scheduled to address public rally in Chittorgarh, Bagore in Bhilwara, Ramsar in Nasirabad (Ajmer) on Saturday.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
