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This Diwali, Sonia’s Rae Bareli may shine bright due to Arun Jaitley’s last wish
Jaitley was in March 2018 elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and had soon after announced, through his UP representative Hero Bajpai, his desire to spend his funds under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD) in Rae Bareli.
Ten days before he was admitted to AIIMS, New Delhi on August 9, former finance minister Arun Jaitley, 66, had signed a letter requesting release of ₹25 million ( ₹2.5 crore) for installing 200 high mast lighting towers in Rae Bareli, which is Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency.
High mast lights are used to illuminate large areas from a height.
Jaitley was in March 2018 elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and had soon after announced, through his UP representative Hero Bajpai, his desire to spend his funds under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD) in Rae Bareli.
Each MP can recommend works up to ₹50 million ( ₹5 crore) in his constituency, annually. In case of Rajya Sabha MPs, they can recommend a similar amount anywhere in the state from where they have been elected to the upper house of Parliament.
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“Jaitley ji had soon after his election to the Rajya Sabha announced that he would invest his MPLAD fund in Rae Bareli. He was also expected to visit the place last Diwali. But ill-health kept him away. ON July 30, 10 days before he was admitted to AIIMS, for one final time, he had called me to his place and signed a letter to get high mast lights for Rae Bareli,” a visibly emotional Bajpai said.
On Jaitley’s insistence, Bajpai had even decided to seek suggestions from the people of Rae Bareli to flag areas that needed attention. “He had told me that he would personally visit Rae Bareli and see where the funds could best be utilised,” Bajpai said.
In July 2018, when Jaitley was the finance minister, his ministry had cleared a proposal by Rae Bareli’s Indian Telephone Industry on increasing retirement age.
Now, Bajpai, says he would push for speedy completion of Jaitley ji’s last political wish. “I would ideally target the implementation of Jaitley ji’s wish by Diwali so that on the festival of lights Rae Bareli shines bright due to a visionary leader who was articulate, master of wit and healthy humour and had friends across the political spectrum,” he said.
As news of Jaitley’s demise arrived, leaders cutting across political lines, from BSP chief Mayawati to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and top Congress leaders were all unanimous that Jaitley’s demise had left a big vaccum in politics. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath cancelled all his assignments for the day so did defence minister Rajnath Singh, who cut short his three-day Lucknow visit to rush to Delhi.
Jaitley was close to several UP leaders since his days in the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). A regular in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Lucknow campaign, he was also the state in-charge.
“I was very close to him. The loss is irreplaceable. He was an orator par excellence and on numerous occasions turned the table on the government during his days as leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha,” said SPS Baghel, former UP minister and Agra MP.
