Jaipur, July 05: Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today charged Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with levelling "frivolous charges" against the Centre to derive "political mileage". Stating that Gehlot was "unnecessarily accusing" the centre of denying clearance for his visit to the United States, he said "such gimmicks were small time and immature politics".
"Despite Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee personally informing Gehlot that his visit to U S had been cleared, the Chief Minister gave false public statements that the Centre was obstructing his visit abroad," he told reporters here.
Similarly, he said, Gehlot had been accusing the Centre for not helping Rajasthan in drought relief measures while the fact was that Rajasthan had received the "maximum" central assistance of over Rs.6,000 crores.
Alleging that the state government had "failed" in properly managing the famine relief measures, he said it was evident during 'Parivartan Yatra' of state BJP chief Vasundhara Raje when "people everywhere complained against the state's apathy towards their problems".
Prasad also denied the charge by the state Congress that Doordarshan and All India Radio personnel were being pressurised to favour BJP in their coverage.
He said all are given equal coverage and that the public broadcasters knew their responsibility.
"The Congress who is levelling this charge against us should look at its own past when it gagged both the media during emergency," he said.
Bureau Report