Lawmakers skip meet, face CM Vasundhara Raje's ire

Jaipur: A furious Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje issued an indirect threat to party MLAs and MPs that they might not get another chance to contest election after a large number of legislators and MPs were found absent from a workshop on her ambitious ‘Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan’.

The poor attendance of public representatives from her party made Ms Raje so angry that she not only took area-wise attendance of those present but also instructed to make a list of the absentees. It was learnt that out of 164 BJP MLAs, only 70 were present that included ministers in her government, while only 15 out of 34 MPs attended the meet on Sunday.

The CM asked them to raise hands when she announced the name of the division and the MPs, MLAs and other public representatives like zilla pramukhs and local bodies representatives from that division raised their hands. Sources said the MLAs and MPs from Bharatpur, Udaipur and Kota divisions, from which the CM also comes, had minimal presence.

Sources added the CM also gave political hint about the absentees. “Aisa Lagta hai in logo ko dubara toh aana hi nahi hai. (It seems they don’t want another term),” she reportedly said.

The scheme is an ambitious programme of the Raje government. She has also appointed engineer-tur-ned politician and national convenor of BJP’s water management cell, Shriram Vedire, as chairperson of Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Authority, which is overlooking the project.