Ashok Gehlot releases first episode of 'budget files', targets Rajasthan govt over Jal Jeevan Mission

Jaipur: Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has released the first episode of his social media video series, Budget Files, targeting the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over its implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state.

Citing official figures, Gehlot questioned the state government's performance on tap water connections and challenged its 'Two Years vs Five Years' narrative.

He released the first episode, titled 'Case No 1', of his much-discussed social media series, Budget Files, on Saturday.

In the opening episode, Gehlot focused on the Jal Jeevan Mission and launched a data-backed attack on the BJP government's performance.

Comparing the Congress government's achievements with those of the current BJP administration, the former Chief Minister sought to counter Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's 'Two Years vs Five Years' slogan.

In the video and accompanying social media posts, Gehlot cited official data to question the BJP government's election promises and budget announcements.

He said that the BJP had promised during the 2023 Assembly elections to provide tap water connections to every household by 2025.

"After assuming power, the BJP government announced a target of providing 25 lakh new tap connections within one year in its February 2024 Budget. It subsequently announced another target of 20 lakh connections in the 2025 Budget."

However, Gehlot alleged that against the combined commitment of 45 lakh connections, the state government had delivered fewer than 14 lakh over nearly three financial years.

"According to the figures presented in the video, the BJP government provided 9.44 lakh tap water connections in the year 2024-25, and 2.71 lakh connections in 2025-26: the current financial year (up to October), the number is around 79,000–89,000 connections," he added.

Drawing a comparison with the previous Congress government, Gehlot claimed that 13.88 lakh households received tap water connections in 2022-23 alone.

He said that this was higher than the BJP government's cumulative achievement of 12.95 lakh connections over the three financial years cited.

Gehlot also alleged that around 44 lakh rural households in Rajasthan were still waiting for tap water connections.

Warning about the slow pace of implementation, he claimed that at the current rate, it could take more than 30 years to provide tap water to all the remaining households.

Taking a swipe at the BJP-led state government, the former Chief Minister accused it of laying only a 'pipeline of statistics' through its budget announcements, while people continued to wait for water connections.

Gehlot's central argument was that although the state government had made ambitious announcements in successive budgets, the promised water supply had not reached households on the ground.

Through the first episode of Budget Files, Gehlot has sought to put the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led Rajasthan government on the defensive by questioning the gap between its budgetary promises and their implementation.

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