Post no big deal for me anymore, says Gehlot

Jaipur, Sep 2 (IANS) Post no longer matters to him and he will continue to help the public with his years of experience, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Saturday.

“Post is not a big deal for me now. I want to serve you (people) till my last with my years experience. I want every moment of my life to be spent in the service of my state, Gehlot said.

He was speaking at the district level programme of rural and urban Olympics in Beawar and Dudu on Saturday.

“I have become the Chief Minister thrice, so I have a vast experience. I started my political life 50 years ago when I became the NSUI president. There is no substitute for experience. With your blessings I gained much experience with which I am using to serve you,” he said.

“When I took over as the Chief Minister for the first time in 1998, BJP's Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the CM then. They won 32 seats, while we bagged 156. Sonia Gandhi gave me the opportunity to become the Chief Minister. Since then, have become the Chief Minister thrice. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders believed in me. Even after losing the elections twice,  we never lost our will to work. Despite losing, whatever position I had, I continued working. When we lost in 2013, you blessed us again last time,” he added.

He went on to say that the BJP-led Centre has become worried about our schemes. Neither it is able to take a decision on old pension nor able to provide insurance of Rs 25 lakh. "We started giving gas cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme for Rs 500. The Union Government reduced the cylinder price by Rs 200.

"I want to ask the Prime Minister that if the state government can provide gas cylinders for Rs 500, why can't the central government? When you started the Ujjwala scheme, the cylinder was priced at Rs 400 and gradually it was increased to Rs 1150. The Centre should come forward and provide gas cylinders for Rs 500 to the poor across the country," he asserted.