Raje follows UP in allotting bungalows for life to former CMs

Why is the BJP silent on the legislation enacted in Rajasthan in April, 2017 which confers on ‘former chief ministers’ the right to live in government bungalows for life besides enjoying other perquisites?

While the validity of the UP Act, criticised by the BJP last year, has been challenged in the Supreme Court, where the next hearing takes place late in August, the Act in Rajasthan has once again brought the issue to the fore. Ironically, former UP chief ministers Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh, the present Union Home Minister and the Rajasthan Governor respectively, continue to retain control over their Government bungalows in Lucknow along with Mayawati of the BSP and Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav of the SP.

But meanwhile one of the BJP legislators in Rajasthan , Ghanshyam Tiwari, has upped the ante by demanding that Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje give up the sprawling property at 13, Civil Lines in Jaipur. What is the message the BJP is sending out by not taking any disciplinary action against Raje, asks the five-time BJP MLA in a belligerent letter to the party’s state unit.

Lashing out at Raje, Tiwari alleges that Raje bulldozed a legislation through the Assembly this year to ensure her continued use of a government bungalow at 13, Civil Lines in Jaipur. The single-storeyed bungalow, he claims, has a market value of ₹2000 crore and during the last nine years, the state government has invested several crores on renovation and expansion of the bungalow within the sprawling campus.

The bungalow is in use as the unofficial residence of the Chief Minister although another bungalow at 8, Civil Lines is officially designated as the Chief Minister’s residence. Tiwari accused Raje of allotting 13, Civil Lines to herself before the Assembly election in 2008 which the BJP lost. And even after winning back the CM’s chair in 2013, she continues to live in the same bungalow to ensure that the bungalow is not allotted to others.

In April, 2017 Raje pushed through a legislation in the Assembly to provide statutory backing to executive orders and to regularise the payments made so far. The amendment provides for a ‘former chief minister’ to continue receiving facilities of housing, pension, travel, personal staff and communication facilities.

Accusing Raje of re-introducing the Jagirdari system in the state, Tiwari points out that in August last year, the Supreme Court had ordered six former Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh to vacate government bungalows in Lucknow. The apex court had ruled that the state government could not rely on executive orders and allot government housing to whoever it liked. It was wrong to allow former Chief Ministers to enjoy government bungalows for life, the court had ruled.

Both Uttar Pradesh and now Rajasthan governments have circumvented the stricture by replacing the executive orders with legislations passed by the respective assemblies. The BJP MLA alleged that Raje is aware that she might not continue as the chief minister after the next election and hence has ensured her continued stay in the bungalow for life.

Tiwari has demanded that either the state government should declare 13, Civil Lines, Jaipur as the official bungalow of the CM or she should be asked to vacate it. He has also demanded that the state government should release details of the money it has spent so far on 13, Civil Lines.