Previous govt launched projects on poll eve without allocating budget: Pilot

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot Monday accused the previous BJP government in the state of launching several "politically-motivated" projects on the eve of assembly polls without allocating any budget for them.

Pilot, however, said that his government would strive to implement all such projects which would be found of public interest.

The previous government made several announcements for roads, bypass, state highways etc days before assembly polls for political benefits. They, however, provided neither any budget nor sanctions from the Finance Department," he said.

"Despite that, we have asked officials to take up the works which are in public interest, he added.

The deputy chief minister also alleged that the previous government neglected even the rural job scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

He said he, however, has asked officials to focus on the rural job guarantee scheme to strengthen the rural economy.

The rural development works will be carried out in all the gram panchayat of the state, he added.

We have given five to six works like digging wells, building rural roads, developing pasture land. Of these works, at least one has to be executed by every gram pancayat," he said.

Pilot, who is also the Rajasthan's Pradesh Congress Committee chief said the party has already completed its elaborate exercise preceding the selection of 25 Lok Sabha candidates in the state for the 2019 general elections.

Pilot, who completed Monday five years as the PCC chief, said the exercise included detailed discussion with the party's grassroots workers and leaders and collection of their feedbacks on probable names for the candidates.

The party held detailed discussion with nearly 10,000 workers and leaders in several meetings at Jaipur, he said, adding the party has set a target of winning all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Pilot said the party has already started its exercise for polls and has fixed a strict time-table as per which all posts of various office bearers in all party units would be filled in a week.

He said the party would be striving to connect with its workers through Project Shakti, launched recently by Congress president Rahul Gandhi to facilitate direct linkages of the party workers with the leadership.

Over 8 lakh party workers have already connected with the party through this project, he said.