The Opposition BJP in Rajasthan has announced that its MLAs will return the iPhones gifted to them by the State government with the copies of the 2022-23 budget. The ruling Congress on Thursday questioned the decision, saying the BJP was creating an issue because it could not criticise the welfare budget which had benefited all sections.
All the 200 MLAs were given an Apple iPhone-13 each along with the copies of the State budget after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s speech in the House on Wednesday. The State government has spent nearly ₹1.50 crore on purchasing the iPhones, each of which costs over ₹75,000.
The legislators in the State, cutting across party lines, have received expensive electronic gadgets as gifts during the Assembly’s budget session for the third consecutive year. Last year, Apple iPads containing soft copies of the budget and related documents were given to the MLAs, while the laptops were given to all of them after the budget presentation the previous year.
‘Positive message’
BJP State president Satish Poonia said the party had decided to return the iPhones keeping in view the financial burden on the State government. He said the decision was taken in consultation with Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, who had opined that accepting the iPhones would set a “wrong precedent”, and other senior leaders. The BJP has 71 MLAs in the House.
Mr. Poonia said the BJP’s move would send across a positive message to the people, as the MLAs already had mobile phones with them and were using computers and Internet. “The party leaders think it appropriate on moral grounds to return the iPhones, while considering financial burden on the State exchequer,” he said.
On the other hand, the State government has maintained that the iPhones were given to all legislators to enable them to use an iPhone operating system (IOS)-based mobile app launched by the Assembly earlier this week. Assembly Secretary M.P. Sharma said the updates related to the legislative work be would be available on the app, which was developed in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre.
The MLAs can use the app for accessing questions, motions, Bills, agenda, session review, business rules and the Assembly proceedings. An Android-based mobile app of the Assembly was operative in the past for the convenience of legislators.
‘Return all items’
Mahendra Chaudhary, deputy chief whip of the ruling party, said the BJP MLAs should take an initiative to return all the items, including iPads and laptops, received by them as well as the residential flats allotted to them till now. New luxury residences for the MLAs are also being constructed near the Assembly building in Jaipur, on which no BJP legislator has commented so far.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said the BJP MLAs were “staging a drama” after first accepting the iPhones, because they could not find any ground to criticise the budget. He challenged the BJP for a debate with Congress over this year’s Union Budget and the State budget of Rajasthan.
Youth Congress State general secretary Ayush Bhardwaj also accused the BJP of adopting double standards and creating an issue without any basis.
The State government has started construction of 160 luxury residential flats for MLAs in Jyoti Nagar, near the Assembly, at a cost of ₹266 crore. Each flat will be built over an area of 3,200 sq. feet and comprise four bedrooms. The project is likely to be completed in November 2023, before the next Assembly election.
