Ashok Gehlot reverses Vasundhara Raje's order; national emblem to replace Deen Dayal Upadhyay logo on govt docs

The newly-formed Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan is set to reverse an order of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state. The Congress has decided to do away with a logo comprising photograph of Jan Sangh founder Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay on government letterheads and notifications, and replace the same with Ashok Stambh, the national emblem.

An official order in this regard will be issued by the government at the earliest.

During the tenure of the BJP government, it was made mandatory to use the Deen Dayal Upadhyay logo on all government orders, notifications and letterheads. The Congress party had protested when the order was issued.

The Congress party had then opposed the move, alleging that Raje government was trying to impose the agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). According to them, the move was an insult to the national emblem and undemocratic in nature. The order was passed by the Vasundhara Raje government on December 11, 2017.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government has also decided to revoke the compulsion on government libraries to keep books on the life Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay. The previous BJP government had made it compulsory for all government libraries to keep books on the life of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

Ashok Gehlot took oath as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan while Sachin Pilot was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister at an event in Jaipur on December 17.

On December 11, the Congress emerged as the single largest party by winning 99 out of 199 seats in Rajasthan. The two leaders played a key part to revive the Congress in the state where the BJP had won with a thumping majority in the 2013 elections. Recovering from the previous loss of bagging just 21 seats, the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the state by winning 99 seats against the BJP's tally of 73.