The ruling Congress has accused Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of stalling the East Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) while hitting out at him over his statement on getting it completed if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is voted to power in Rajasthan, where polls are due this year.
The ERCP seeks to provide irrigation and drinking water facilities across 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan.
The Congress on Tuesday shared a video on Twitter in which Shekhawat, the BJP Member of Parliament from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, is heard saying he will get the ERCP project completed and also give ₹46,000 crore if Opposition leader Rajendra Rathore is voted to power in Rajasthan.
The video of the remarks over the weekend at a programme to mark the completion of nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government went viral.
In a tweet, Congress called this proof of the BJP’s frustrated thinking. “See the flippant attitude of Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who has stalled the ERCP and is cheating the public. He is hungry for power…”
Shekhawat tried to downplay his statement, saying Congress was trying to divert attention from the core issue of ERCP. “I was asked about the ERCP and I said that if our government is formed in Rajasthan, we will bring the project. At that time, Rajendra Rathore was with me.”
Congress leader Pawan Khera said Shekhawat has insulted the people and has no sympathy for their pain. “During Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan, the issue of ERCP was raised several times… This project will prove a lifeline for 13 districts of Rajasthan. People do not want petty politics over this,” he said in a tweet.
He said Shekhawat’s statement showed the BJP did not grant the status of a national project or any special grant to ERCP because of its greed for power. “Shekhawat has not been able to get any funds for the project from the central government.”
Khera said Modi promised national project status to the ERCP in election rallies in 2018. He added after the BJP lost the elections, the status was not given while calling it revenge.
