Rajasthan Investment Summit: Congress Calls it a Ploy to Favor Industrialists

Jaipur, Dec 19 (PTI) The opposition Congress on Thursday accused the BJP government in Rajasthan of misleading people in the name of the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit, and said it was "a game to give free lands to industrialists".

The three-day summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 9 and, according to the state government, agreements worth Rs 35 lakh crore were signed with companies across various sectors.

State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra claimed that there were instances where MoUs (memorandum of understandings) of huge amounts were signed with private colleges or smaller firms by the government just to increase the amount of investment commitments.

"This manipulation was done by the BJP government to please the prime minister. This summit was nothing but a game to give free lands to industrialists. The government has misled people and we will not let the resources and land of Rajasthan be looted," Dotasra said during a press conference at the party office here.

He attacked the Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma-led government in the state over a range of issues, including law and order.

Dotasra further said that the chief minister's officer on special duty (OSD) issued a letter addressed to the 'Vipra' (Brahmin) community thanking it for events on the first anniversary of the state government. This was to give importance to just one community, the Congress leader said.

"People from all classes and communities participated in the event but why did the OSD only give thanks to the Vipra community? This shows the chief minister's inexperience, lack of understanding and his poor grip over governance," he said.

Leader of opposition in the state assembly Tikaram Jully demanded the government to disclose details of MoUs signed during the summit.

He said the government has claimed that MoUs worth Rs 35 lakh crore have been signed, but it is not clear that the MoUs were signed with which company and what is the status of the company.

"Companies with Rs 25 lakh net worth were signing MoUs of Rs 1,000 crore.The government should disclose which company signed MoUs of how much amount and what is the status or net worth of the companies," he said.

He said that the government has only misled people in the name of the summit.

Congress legislator Rohit Bohra said that the manufacturing sector was ignored and the focus was only on the solar energy sector. He said that solar energy plants set up by private companies on the land of Rajasthan will contribute nothing to the exchequer of the state and will only benefit the industrialists.

He said that the manufacturing sector, which generates employment opportunities, was not focused in the summit.

Congress leaders attacked the government calling it as a 'Parchi ki Sarkar'. They also released a film on the completion of one year of the government with highlights of crime incidents.

Dotasra said that the Congress will expose the BJP government from streets to the state assembly in the days to come.

The BJP government in Rajasthan completed one year in office on December 15.

Prime Minister Modi addressed a public meeting in Jaipur's Dadiya area on December 17 and inaugurated/laid the foundation stone of 24 projects to mark the first anniversary of the state government.