How Bhajan Lal's Anti-Corruption Drive In Rajasthan Targets Congress-Era Rot

For the past few months, local newspapers in Rajasthan have been filled with reports about the Anti-Corruption Bureau's (ACB) actions against corrupt officials across departments.

From a Jalore government doctor arrested for taking a Rs 2,000 bribe for drafting a medical certificate, a Sri Ganganagar patwari accepting Rs 95,000, and a Phalodi village development officer seeking Rs 10,000 under Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana to a Jaipur cooperative inspector taking Rs 2.75 lakh, all have come under the ACB's radar.

The above-mentioned cases are from a single week, the third week of August, and cover the health, land and housing departments. Bribery amounts ranged from as little as Rs 2,000 to several lakhs, suggesting the ACB's growing vigilance and action.

This would not have been possible without Rajasthan Chief Minister (CM) Bhajan Lal Sharma's emphasis on a zero-tolerance policy against corruption.

Within a month of becoming CM, Sharma issued a directive in January 2024 for strict action against the guilty and granted general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for impartial investigation in state-related cases.

Notably, the erstwhile Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government withdrew general consent for the CBI in July 2020, making case-by-case permission from the state government mandatory for any investigation.

The decision followed the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) demand for a CBI probe into allegations that the Gehlot government was involved in horse-trading and in recording audio tapes of rebel Congress MLAs led by then Deputy CM Sachin Pilot.

Since the BJP government reinstated general consent, the CBI has conducted raids on illegal sand mining and disproportionate assets cases, arresting individuals in bribery and cyber fraud matters.

It is not only in restoring general consent to the CBI that the BJP government has moved away from the Congress’s lax approach to corruption. The Bhajan Lal government is also addressing several deep-seated systemic flaws.

Go Ahead to Prosecutions

In June, the Bhajan Lal government approved prosecutions in 24 long-pending bribery cases, including those involving an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and several senior state officers.

IAS officer Nirmala Meena was named in a wheat scam in 2017, and the ACB filed a chargesheet against her in 2018. Despite this, no action was taken by successive administrations. With the latest sanction, the case has now been forwarded to court.

Another high-profile case is that of suspended Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) member Babulal Katara, arrested in connection with the 2022 Senior Teacher Recruitment paper leak.

After the Special Operations Group (SOG) completed its investigation and submitted the report, the government accepted its recommendations and gave its nod on 10 June, paving the way for court proceedings.

In another sensitive case, the government permitted legal action against former Dausa Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Pushkar Mittal and Bandikui SDM Pinky Meena, who were caught in 2021 allegedly taking bribes of Rs 5 lakh each during the construction of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway.

That year, the ACB uncovered a wider bribery nexus around the project, leading to the arrest of both SDMs along with the then Dausa Superintendent of Police (SP) Manish Agarwal.

Although the ACB filed chargesheets without delay, court proceedings stalled due to pending state sanction. Approval for Agarwal was issued in January 2024, but the files concerning Mittal and Meena remained stalled until 1 June.

This move addressed a backlog of 403 graft cases pending since 2022. In the first six months of 2025 alone, the government approved prosecution in 40 cases involving senior officials across departments. The government also began regular monitoring of pending cases involving gazetted officers.

Action Concerning RGHS

The Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS) is another avenue of anti-corruption action under the Bhajan Lal government. Initially launched by the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in 2018 and fully operationalised by Gehlot in 2021, the scheme became a hub of corrupt practices.

When expenditure on the scheme rose from Rs 700 crore in 2021–22 to Rs 4,400 crore in 2024–25, concerns grew about misuse and fraudulent billing. Finance Secretary Naveen Jain initiated an AI-powered internal financial audit.

Over 20,000 questionable transactions involving hospitals, pharmacies, doctors, and officials were identified. The government suspects a Rs 100 crore scam in the scheme.

The crackdown began with medical stores. Over the last year, contracts with hundreds of stores were suspended over allegations of siphoning off scheme money through forged bills. The process of enrolling new stores in the scheme has been halted due to scrutiny.

Many government employees who misused RGHS have also been suspended. Five doctors, including two from the Ayurved department, were suspended for drafting fake prescriptions, along with nine other department employees.

A total of 473 personnel across education, health, home, electricity distribution and Ayurved departments have been served notices. First Information Reports (FIRs) have been lodged against several medical stores from Churu, Sikar, Alwar, Nagaur and other districts.

The government has introduced structural changes in the scheme by designating Chief Medical and Health Officers (CMHO) of districts to monitor it fully.

Guidelines have been issued for better operation, control and monitoring, while ensuring transparency. Administration of the scheme is being streamlined by bringing the Chief Executive Officer of the Rajasthan state insurance agency in direct contact with the medical and health department.

The district nodal officers of CM Ayushman Aarogya Yojana have also been appointed as district nodal officers for RGHS. They will be assisted by district project coordinators, and the team will function under CMHOs.

The RPSC, whose credibility suffered due to exam irregularities and paper leaks, was the first to undergo structural changes.

Bringing reforms to tackle paper leaks was promised in the BJP's 2023 manifesto. Within days of assuming power, CM Sharma announced a state-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate all paper-leak cases.

The SIT registered 94 FIRs and arrested 244 individuals within a year. Meanwhile, the SOG registered 91 FIRs and made multiple arrests in connection with paper leaks.

Police action was an immediate measure, but the main focus was RPSC restructuring. It was felt that the eight-member body, including the Chairman, needed more strength for effective functioning.

In mid-July, the Rajasthan Cabinet announced that the RPSC will have 10 members and a Chairman. The creation of three additional posts will help manage the growing workload, including more recruitment exams, administrative tasks, and the need for timely and transparent processes amid expanding government departments.

RPSC also witnessed a leadership change in June, with Rajasthan Director General of Police (DGP) Utkal Ranjan Sahoo appointed as Chairman, marking the first such appointment of a serving DGP.

Traditionally, only retired Indian Police Service (IPS) or Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers or academics held this position, but this often led to delays, irregularities, skipped cycles, combined exams, and damaging paper leaks.

With a strict police officer, known as a close confidant of the CM, at the helm and 10 members in place, RPSC is expected to regain its credibility. Already, in 2024, the RPSC successfully conducted 145 exams with fairness and transparency.

Other Structural Changes

The government has streamlined prior approval processes for inquiries or investigations against public servants accused of corruption. This includes faster clearances to initiate probes, reducing delays that previously hindered ACB actions.

In May, during a meeting at the CM's residence, directions were given for the prompt resolution of departmental cases involving disciplinary action, preliminary investigations, prosecution approvals, and matters under Section 17A against state service officers. Prosecution approvals followed in June.

Measures such as digitising filing processes and simplifying administrative rules have reduced opportunities for bribery and manual interference in government dealings. Public engagement has been strengthened through the ACB's helpline (1064) and a dedicated WhatsApp helpline (9413502834) for anonymous corruption reports.

Along with the strengthening of the RPSC, restoring general consent to the CBI, effective monitoring of RGHS, and clearing long-pending prosecutions, these measures have helped address the corruption allowed to persist under the Gehlot government.

Another initiative is the reopening of the Rs 237 crore advertisement scam case, where irregularities during the 2008–13 Congress rule are alleged. The chargesheet in the case was filed in 2017.

However, when Gehlot returned to power in 2018, the state government filed a revision petition in the Rajasthan High Court in 2022, seeking withdrawal of prosecution against all accused.

In 2024, the Bhajan Lal government reviewed and withdrew these petitions in the high-profile case, and the Supreme Court allowed proceedings and prosecutions to advance in May 2025.

The Challenges

While the Bhajan Lal government has taken firm initiatives against corruption, it faces entrenched resistance within the system.

The first pushback has come from hospitals, which have stopped cashless treatment under RGHS citing non-payment of dues. However, it is believed this is a form of protest against ongoing scrutiny.

Health Minister Gajendra Khimsar clarified that dues worth Rs 850 crore for April 2025 had been cleared and only Rs 200 crore, linked to suspected irregular transactions, has been withheld pending investigation.

Nevertheless, the Rajasthan Alliance of Hospital Associations (RAHA) is demanding a settlement cycle of 45 days and threatening to suspend cashless treatment until its demand is met.

The opposition is also resisting. Former CM Gehlot has made the suspension of cashless treatment a political issue, claiming that the Congress government handled irregularities without affecting the scheme’s benefits.

The biggest challenge, however, is expected from the bureaucracy itself, especially in light of allegations that bureaucrats are controlling governance.

"Corruption in Rajasthan has never been a political issue. Corruption levels remained almost similar under the Congress and the BJP rule. It would be interesting to see how these initiatives change this," a school lecturer from Jodhpur told Swarajya.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Krishna Kumar, a resident of Hanumangarh: "Stopping corruption is a difficult thing to do, since everyone is involved. However, I have trust in Bhajan Lal Sharma and I think we will be able to see results in the next three years."

The impact of these anti-corruption drives remains to be seen. They may bring genuine attitudinal change within the system, or they may remain limited to arrests and prosecutions in isolated cases.

One thing is clear: Rajasthan's anti-corruption campaign under Bhajan Lal Sharma stands out for its breadth and systematic approach.