Jaipur, Oct 14 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Rajasthan Assembly and senior Congress leader Tika Ram Jully, on Tuesday, levelled serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the delays in the Pachpadra (Balotra) Refinery project.

He accused the BJP government of betraying public trust by failing to initiate production at the refinery, despite clear commitments in the 2025-26 state budget.

LoP Jully said that the Budget announcement for the year 2025-26 explicitly said that the Pachpadra (Balotra) Refinery would commence production by August 2025.

“However, not only has production not started, but the state government has also failed to provide any concrete explanation for the delay,” he added.

He said that the foundation stone of the refinery was laid in 2013 under the Congress government, with a scheduled completion date of 2018.

However, following the change in the government in December 2013, the incoming BJP government stalled the project.

After five years of inactivity, the BJP resumed work only in late 2018.

When the Congress government returned to power in December 2018, the project was expedited — even amid the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic — and more than 80 per cent of the work was completed by 2023.

LoP Jully also said that the estimated project cost in 2013 was Rs 37,000 crore but due to the BJP government’s delays and mismanagement, it has now escalated to nearly Rs 1 lakh crore.

He also criticised the previous BJP government’s decision to withdraw the state’s share in the project, which has imposed an additional financial burden on Rajasthan.

He noted that in August 2024, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited the refinery site, but neither provided a timeline for its inauguration nor clarified when the production would begin.

The LoP asked: “If the Congress government could complete over 80 per cent of the work even during the Covid-19 crisis, why has the BJP’s so-called ‘double-engine’ government failed to finish the remaining 20 per cent in two years under normal circumstances?”

He concluded by saying that the people of Rajasthan demand answers from the BJP-led state government.

“Was the budget announcement a lie? When will the government be held accountable for this delay?” LoP Jully demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers provide clear answers on this issue during their visits to Rajasthan.

–IANS

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