Rajasthan as bad as UP, Bihar in law and order : Gehlot

New Delhi, Jun 30 (UNI) Senior Congress leader and AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot today expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Rajasthan and said the state of affairs there was similar to that in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Gehlot said until two and a half years ago, Rajasthan was rated among the states having good law and order situation,but now things had changed completely with cases of murders, loots, rapes and abductions for ransom being the order of the day.

The former chief minister of Rajasthan said in a statement issued here that the State Government's action of opening liquor shops in various by-lanes had resulted in the liquor mafias fighting with each other. There was no fear of law and the common man, including poor, farmers, dalits and women, was living in terror.

He said the incident that took place at Deedwana was the latest instance of "jungle raj". Earlier there had been incidents of murders of four Gurjars at village Balwanta of Ajmer, massacre of four tribals in Sirohi district and broadday light murder in Seekar apart from incidents at Pali, Dhaulpur, Alwar, Jaipur, Bikaner, Sriganga Nagar, Churu and Jhujhnu.

Mr Gehlot said heinous crimes were taking place in the very home district of state Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Women were being raped in the presence of their husbands, people were being burnt alive and drug peddlers were firing at the police to get their associates released. "It appears that the Home Minister of the state and police force are incapable of doing anything in this situation." "At a time like this, the Chief Minister is on a fifteen-day tour of foreign countries leaving the state at the mercy of the God, "Mr Gehlot said, adding "When Rome was building, Neero was sleeping." UNI YS PK RS1847