Jaipur, February 21 Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma defended his government's two-year performance in the assembly on Saturday, asserting that his administration had fulfilled most of its promises, while the previous Congress regime had nothing to show for its five-year tenure.
On this day, the assembly proceedings were adjourned five times as chaotic scenes unfolded, with opposition members storming the well and raising slogans.
Responding to a debate on the state government's two-year report card, Sharma said the opposition had earlier challenged the BJP to compare its two years in office with the Congress' five-year rule.
"The Congress has an empty record. They have nothing to show from their five years. The achievements of the Congress regime are zero. What will they debate?" Sharma quipped.
He said, "The opposition had challenged us, and we accepted that challenge. We presented a report comparing two years versus five years. Out of the 352 points in our 2023 resolution document, 285 have been implemented in just two years."
The chief minister alleged that several announcements made by the previous government remained incomplete, accusing it of indulging in "corruption and appeasement".
Amid slogans and a walkout by Congress MLAs, Sharma presented documents in support of his claims. "I came prepared with documents. There was a lot to say. They did not have the courage to listen to the truth and left the House," he accused.
Sharma claimed that 90 per cent of his government's budget announcements had received approvals, and 80 per cent were either completed or under implementation. He said over one lakh government appointments had been made in two years, and social security pension coverage had been expanded with enhanced financial outlay.
He further said that the government had increased the minimum social security pension to Rs 1,300 and added over 10 lakh new beneficiaries in two years, which he claimed was significantly higher than the previous regime's performance in a similar period.
On infrastructure and welfare, Sharma said the government had accelerated works in fencing, farm ponds, higher education, and skill training programmes. He also cited steps taken in water projects, including progress on interstate river link proposals.
The assembly had earlier witnessed uproar over the motion of the debate, with opposition members objecting to the tabling of the two-year performance report instead of a "two years versus five years" discussion.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel had presented the report in the House.
Raising a point of order, Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully objected to the contents of the report, saying the chief minister had earlier stated that there would be a discussion on "BJP's two years versus Congress' five years".
"How is the discussion being held on two years alone? Bring the same proposal," Jully said, alleging that the proposal presented by the minister was different. Congress MLA Govind Singh Dotasra supported the objection.
As members from both sides started speaking, slogans were raised. Speaker Vasudev Devnani intervened and attempted to restore order.
Patel said the report compared the present government's two-year performance with the previous Congress government's five-year tenure and accused the opposition of trying to evade debate.
The assembly was adjourned multiple times before the chief minister's reply.
Following his response, the assembly was adjourned till Monday.