What is his dream for Rajasthan, which he will most likely lead again? “I want all of Rajasthan’s 40,000 villages to become model villages. A few years ago, I visited Ralegaon Siddhi (in Maharashtra. Considered a model village it is where social worker Anna Hazare lives). I want to make every village in Rajasthan like that,” he says.
Gehlot points out that many villages lack basic amenities such as schools or clinics; even more lack facilities often taken for granted such as fire stations, police stations, stores, etc. “Every village must take care of all the needs of a person and a family; every village must be secure and safe,” he says, then adds thoughtfully, “But it is not an easy task to achieve.”
Rajasthan has debts worth Rs 54,000 crore (Rs 540 billion). Given the three droughts the state has endured, the chief minister says he needed to borrow money for various schemes and to build infrastructure. “Now that we have an infrastructure in place, investment will follow,” he believes. “Other states are in debt, so why blame us alone?”