New Delhi: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said the BJP is creating unnecessary drama to divert the attention of the people and asserted not even 0.1 per cent of the state budget was leaked. Gehlot, who also holds the finance portfolio, was referring to a major goof-up earlier in the day, where he read excerpts of the previous budget instead of Budget 2023-24 in the Rajasthan Assembly.
The chief minister said it was a human error and he felt sorry for that.
"Despite that, they created drama unnecessarily and exaggerated the issue. They knew that the budget was going to be excellent," Gehlot said as quoted by news agency PTI. "Not even 0.1 per cent of the budget was leaked," he said.
READ | Rajasthan Budget Presentation Disrupted As BJP Alleges 'Leak', CM Gehlot Dismisses Claim — Watch
The senior Congress leader further said that people in villages were sitting down to watch the budget live, but the BJP wanted the message of the government not be delivered to them.
Notably, the gaffe in the House led to two adjournments, with the BJP alleging that the budget had been leaked and the presentation be postponed.
When the Assembly reassembled after the second adjournment, CM Gehlot apologized saying, "I am feeling sorry. An extra page was added by mistake. It was human error." After his apology, the uproar ended and he presented the budget.
Speaking at the post-budget press conference, the chief minister said, "There is no anti-government wave and therefore it seems that the people have realized our good governance. The coronavirus management in Rajasthan was excellent in the country, we saved liveshe said, expressing hope that his government would be reelected.
It is to be noted that this was the last budget of the Congress government before Rajasthan will be going to assembly elections later this year.