Jaipur, June 26: Justifying the proposed visit of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to United States next week, the Rajasthan government today told the High Court that the tour was in "public interest". Submitting the state's reply to a notice issued by Justice S K Keshote on June 17 questioning the visit when the state was facing severe financial crunch and drought conditions, Advocate-General Sagar Mal Mehta said Gehlot was leading a delegation to New York in public interest to secure investment in the desert state from non-resident Rajasthanis. The visit would not affect famine relief works, he said in the reply submitted before vacation judge S K Garg. Justice Keshote had issued notices to the state government and the Centre taking suo moto cognigance of local newspaper reports about the proposed visit of a 15-member delegation, headed by Gehlot, to New York to attend a conference of Rajasthan Association of North America (Rana) to be held from July four to six. The advocate-general told reporters that the court had not issued any stay order on the visit. In its reply, the state government told the court that famine relief works were being managed "very efficiently" and had received appreciation even from a Central government team. Meanwhile, Gehlot told reporters here today that he was still awaiting the Centre's formal permission for his proposed visit.

Bureau Report