CM Raje should vacate 13, Civil Lines, says Tiwari

Jaipur: Rebel BJP MLA Ghanshyam

Tiwari

on Thursday demanded that chief minister Vasundhara Raje move out of her current resident at 13, Civil Lines and into 8, Civil Lines, which is the designated chief minister’s residence.

“Rajasthan High Court in its directive has already asked her to designate one of the two residences as the official CM residence and vacate the other. The directive should be followed. Nobody can be allowed to stake claim on state property for life. Last year alone, the state government had spent Rs 4 crore on renovations at 13, Civil Lines,’’ said Tiwari.

The senior MLA from Sanganer, making a reference to the controversial Rajasthan Ministers’ Salaries (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which entitles former chief ministers of the state for a house and other facilities for life, said that similar bills passed by other states had been struck down by the Supreme Court.

“Official residences allotted on this basis in UP, MP had to be vacated. Here too, former Congress chief ministers – Ashok Gehlot and Jagannath Pahadia – too must vacate the official residences provided them in capacity of being former chief ministers,’’ he said.

Tiwari made the arguments while participating in the debate over The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (Officers and Members Emoluments and Pension) (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

State parliamentary affairs minister Rajendra Rathore objected to Tiwari raising the Rajasthan Ministers’ Salaries (Amendment) Bill, 2017, claiming that the Sanganer MLA had already made all these arguments in the house in April 2017. ``The bill passed today has nothing to do with the one Tiwari is talking about. Everything he has said should be expunged,’’ Rathore demanded.

Deputy Speaker Rao Rajendra Singh, though, said that as Tiwari had spoked after seeking permission from the chair, it cannot be expunged. ``In matter where High Court has made its observations, you (state government) can move your own amendments through the different clauses and sections of the Rules of Vidhan Sabha,’’ he said.

The bill, which was one of the nine bills passed on Thursday extends the provision of reimbursement of expenditure on account of medical treatment to dependent children of ex-members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. Through the amendment, the state government has also removed the existing rider of spouses of ex-members being eligible for family pension only if income or pension received from other sources is less than the pension payable. Both the facilities would be available with retro effect from April 1, 2018.

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