Schemes not 'freebies', but part of social security: CM on Rajasthan Budget

In his government’s last Budget before the Assembly polls this year-end, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday reached out to all sections of the population to brighten his party's chances to break the three-decade tradition of not re-electing a state government.

Though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the Budget a reflection of bad economics, which will take the total debt of the state to over Rs 6 trillion, the CM called it a move to guarantee social security.

While talking to Business Standard about the Rajasthan Budget, Gehlot said all the schemes announced are part of social security, and are not freebies. 

“We made a promise to our people, we are just delivering on that promise. Social security is their right,” he said.

Gehlot, who also holds the portfolio of finance minister, while presenting the Budget for 2023-24, announced freebies giving free electricity, increasing health insurance benefits, raising pension payout and bringing in employees of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies under the ambit of the old pension scheme, among others.

Leader of the Opposition, Gulab Chand Kataria, said the entire Budget seemed to be a bundle of lucrative promises ahead of the elections, but due to the state’s poor financial health, many of the promises will never see the light of day.

However, Gehlot countered the claims and said, “my focus is on people, not elections.”

While accusing the central government of partial treatment towards Rajasthan, Gehlot said, "Centre is reducing its share in the centrally sponsored scheme".

The Budget 2023-24 included subsidised gas for 7.6 million families included in the BPL and the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. These families will get LPG cylinders for Rs 500. The government has announced spending Rs 1,500 crore to provide cheaper cooking gas to the poor. 

“The Centre announced the scheme, but increased the cost of a cylinder. We are giving them relief,” Gehlot said.

The announcement was part of the Rajasthan government’s Rs 19,000-crore “inflation relief package” for the poor.

Households will also get free electricity if they consume less than 100 units in a month, up from the previous 50-unit limit. Like in the previous four years, no new tax was imposed while relief worth Rs 1,750 crore was given in the Budget 2023-24, the chief minister said.

The Budget proposed to increase the coverage amount from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh annually per family in the state government’s ambitious Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana.

Rajasthan CM announced amnesty schemes providing relief on interest, penalty, and principal as well for the industry sector also. Tourism too got another Rs 500 crore allocation taking the total size of the development fund to Rs 1,500 crore.

However, the most anticipated announcement on creating new districts remained amiss.

Rajasthan is going to hold the election in December this year. In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress won 99 seats, BJP won 73 and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) bagged six seats out of the 199 seats that went to polls. A minimum of 101 seats are needed to form a government in the House of 200.

Ashok Gehlot formed the government in 2018 with the support of six BSP and independent MLAs. Later, all the BSP MLAs joined the Congress.

In the last two national elections, Congress faced a strong defeat against BJP, which won all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014 and 24 in 2019.