Mount Abu, November 7
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will have a lot to explain over the “starvation deaths” in his state when Congress President Sonia Gandhi takes stock of the performance of the states under Congress rule at the conference of Congress Chief Ministers which begins here tomorrow.

“Starvation deaths” in Rajasthan could not have come at a worse time for the beleaguered state Chief Minister whose government has been facing charges of poor performance.

One reason for choosing Mount Abu, which is close to Gujarat, as the venue for the fourth conclave of Congress Chief Ministers, is that Assembly elections are due in Gujarat in six weeks and Rajasthan faces Assembly elections next year. The Congress realises that coming back to power in Rajasthan will not be easy.

In the Guwahati resolve, adopted last April, Congress Chief Ministers pledged to “ensure food security for all through efficient functioning of food subsidy schemes, particularly by making available foodgrain in adequate quantities at affordable prices to the vulnerable sections of society in vulnerable regions.”

Though the Rajasthan Government has denied that the recent deaths in Baran district of the state were due to starvation, Mr Gehlot will be hard put to explain how people of the area are finding it difficult to get two meals a day. The state government has not answered the questions posed by the media and NGOs about the deaths due to food scarcity in the state.

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is likely to get good marks from Mrs Gandhi. One of the crucial aspects of the Guwahati resolve was asking the Chief Ministers to “pay the highest attention to reforms in the power sector to ensure reliable and adequate supply of power at the earliest.”

After some dilly-dallying, the Punjab government had initiated reforms in the power sector. Though the Congress had talked of giving free power in its poll manifesto in Punjab, senior Congress leaders saw no economic sense in the decision.