Jaipur: The state assembly’s Budget Session commenced Wednesday amid high political drama, with Congress legislators staging a symbolic protest ahead of the Governor’s address and later mounting a sharp critique of his speech, alleging that it had glossed over the govt’s many failures.Led by Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully and Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, Congress MLAs marched to the gates of the Vidhan Sabha carrying spades, baskets, and brooms. Party leaders said the props symbolised allegations of corruption and the govt’s attempt to dilute the MGNREGA scheme by replacing it with the VB-G RAM G Act. The protest was held shortly before Governor Haribhau Bagde addressed the House at 11am, setting the tone for a confrontational session.Reacting to the address, Jully termed it “disappointing and directionless”, alleging that it failed to reflect ground realities. “To praise itself, the govt committed the sin of making the Governor read out falsehoods. The address is an attempt to hide the govt’s failures rather than present an honest assessment,” he said later at a press conference.Jully said the govt’s claims contrasted sharply with the situation on the ground. On the subject of examinations, he pointed out that while the Governor’s address asserted there were no paper leaks, it remained silent on OMR sheet irregularities that had surfaced just before the session. “This silence is playing with the future of the youth,” he said.Jully also criticised the govt’s claims on sports, education and employment, alleging that its promises have not translated into outcomes and citing huge vacancies in school posts, stalled sports infrastructure projects and cuts in welfare schemes. On agriculture, he accused the govt of ignoring farmer distress, pointing to fertiliser shortages, pending crop compensation and unannounced power cuts in rural areas.Questioning the govt’s economic narrative, Congress chief whip Rafeek Khan said the address made “lofty claims” on investment without corresponding delivery. “The govt talks about MoUs worth Rs 35 lakh crore, but work began on only Rs 8 lakh crore. The rest remains on paper,” he said.Congress leaders said the Governor’s address would be debated threadbare in the coming days, warning that the opposition would systematically counter what it called exaggerated claims with facts during the discussions in the Assembly.
