Poonia called a press conference two days before the announcement of the state budget and counted the issues which according to him were pending even after three years of the formation of the government.

 

Speaking at the press conference, Poonia said, "There is information coming that around 1000 petrol pumps situated in the border areas of the state are on the verge of closure as petrol and diesel are being smuggled from adjoining states at cheaper prices. A little reduction in VAT could have eased the challenges of these petrol pump owners and people of the state as it could have helped the state to earn decent revenue.

 

Raising a demand for farmers' loan waiver in the upcoming budget, he said there have been constant reports coming in that farmers in different areas of the state are committing suicide.

 

A farmer in Bhilwara committed suicide 3 days ago. Also, reports of farmers' suicides have been coming from Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and other districts. Not implementing the farmer loan waiver, which was announced by Rahul Gandhi in a pre-poll rally, is a big reason for these suicides, he added.

 

Thousands of farmers across the state have lost their lands.

 

Over three lakh farmers have NPA loans worth Rs 6000 crore. Over one lakh farmers have lost their lands to auction. The loan waiver by cooperative banks is much less than the requirement of the farmers. Over 60 lakh farmers of Rajasthan are suffering the cons of bank loans and hence they should be given relief by announcing loan waiver in the budget, said Poonia adding that more jobs should be created as unemployment in Rajasthan also stands at 27pc

 

He also asked the state government to furnish data on how many youths should have got jobs through skill and technical training. The Gehlot government should bring a white paper in this regard, he added.