No govt functions during CM’s yatra: Rajasthan HC
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan high court on Wednesday prohibited the state government from spending money on and holding official functions during chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s ongoing 40-day Gaurav Yatra which aims to galvanize support ahead of assembly polls later this year.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah flagged off the 40-day yatra that aimed to cover 6,054 km across the state’s 165 constituencies on August 4 .
A division bench, comprising chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice GR Moolchandani, said no government functions should be held when Raje and other BJP leaders take breaks during the yatra. It also said the government cannot launch any social welfare programmes or inaugurate exhibitions during the yatra.
Lawyer Vibhuti Bhushan Sharma filed a public interest litigation in the court last month alleging that taxpayer money was being used for political events during the yatra.
Raje has made announcements such as setting up a grid sub-station and upgrading primary health centres during the yatra’s two phases.
“For a common man, if during the Gaurav Yatra, which is a political event, the leader of a political party, who happens to be the chief minister, inaugurates public functions, the understanding would be the glorification of the political party and not the glorification of the achievements by the government,” the court said.
The BJP earlier told the court that it was bearing expenses for stages, tents, generators, coolers and sound systems being used during the yatra. It gave the court details of bills and invoices raised for the services. The government told the court that the state has to pay whether a CM’s travel is for official or personal purposes. It argued that the money spent on protocol and security arrangements cannot be called expenditure incurred on political events.
“The state-sponsored programmes are so intermingled with the Gaurav Yatra that it would be impossible to segregate one from the other,” said the court. The court cited an earlier (and since scrapped) public works department’s promise to provide tents, sound system and stages required for the yatra. An August 1 order regarding this was withdrawn five days later. “It is apparent that the initial attempt by the government was a palpable abuse of the executive power of the state to directly help a political party, that is the BJP.”
State parliamentary affairs minister Rajendra Rathore said the government would follow the court order. “Other political parties have also taken out such yatras and there has never been any misuse of government funds,” he said. Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the court had shown the mirror to an “arrogant BJP government which is misusing the public money”. Congress state president Sachin Pilot asked the BJP to deposit the government money spent on yatra to the public exchequer.
Retired Rajasthan University sociology professor Rajiv Gupta called the court’s order a rap on the knuckles for the government. “The court’s order should reduce misuse of public funds.”