English medium schools, OPS, cow dung among CM Gehlot's election guarantees

CM Ashok Gehlot unveiled five guarantees, including free laptops for first-year students in govt colleges, Rs 15-lakh insurance cover for natural disaster losses, and cow dung at Rs 2 per kg

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot unveiled five guarantees for the state's people if his government is re-elected in the upcoming Assembly elections. These guarantees include implementing the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees through legislation, providing school education in English medium, and purchasing cow dung at Rs 2 per kg under the "godhan scheme".

The CM also "guaranteed" Rs 15-lakh insurance cover for natural disaster losses and to provide government college students a tablet or laptop in their first year. Gehlot also claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Modi was "copying" Congress' "guarantee model".

These guarantees come in addition to the two others made on Wednesday during Priyank Gandhi Vadra's rally in Jhunjhunu. The chief minister had announced cooking gas cylinders at Rs 500 to 10.5 million families and an annual honorarium of Rs 10,000 to the woman head of a family.

Gehlot made these announcements during a press conference on Friday. He took the opportunity to criticise the Centre for allegedly misusing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to go after Congress leaders ahead of the election in five states. In Rajasthan, the ED conducted raids on the premises of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Chief Govind Singh Dotsara on Thursday in connection to the exam paper leak case. The ED also sent summons to the chief minister's son, Vaibhav Gehlot.

Opposition parties, including Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) condemned the BJP for using government agencies as political tools ahead of elections. Congress workers in Rajasthan also staged protests outside the ED office in Jaipur against the raids.

"You (agencies) have become a political weapon. Modi ji, you do not understand, your countdown has begun," the CM warned

during the press conference.

The Rajasthan state Assembly election will be conducted on November 25 and the votes will be counted on December 3. Congress, BJP, and AAP have released lists of candidates for the 2023 state elections. A party needs to win 101 seats to form a government in the 200-seat Assembly.

(With agency inputs)