Jaipur, Nov. 26 -- Senior state Congress leader Pramod Jain Bhaya on Tuesday took oath as a member of the legislative assembly from the Anta constituency in Baran district, after his victory in the high-profile by-election that concluded on November 14. Speaker Vasudev Devnani administered the oath in his chamber. Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully, Congress whip Rafique Khan and several MLAs were present at the event. The by-election was necessitated on May 1 after the state high court upheld the conviction former Anta MLA Kanwarlal Meena, a member of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje's camp, in a 20-year-old case wherein he was accused of holding a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) at gunpoint. Bhaya defeated BJP's candidate Morpal Suman in the by-election, while Independent Naresh Meena secured the third position with a narrow margin. With Bhaya's victory, the Congress tally in the Assembly has now risen to 65 MLAs. The oath marks the official commencement of an MLA's rights and responsibilities, enabling the elected representative to submit questions in the Assembly, raise issues, and avail all legislative privileges. While MLAs often take oath during an ongoing Assembly session, the Speaker also has the provision to administer it in his chamber when required. Speaking to reporters outside the assembly, Bhaya raised concerns about the ongoing agricultural crisis in Baran district. He said that farmers suffered heavy crop losses for three consecutive years due to excessive rainfall, yet compensation was allegedly not provided, recalling that the district Congress Committee staged a protest a month ago on the issue. "We are sending a written request to the authorities, highlighting that sowing of wheat has increased significantly this year but the supply of urea has been inadequate. Farmers in Baran are struggling and moving from place to place in search of fertiliser," he said, adding that if urea supply was not restored within seven days, the party would stage a protest on December 2 outside the Gadepan urea plant, the region's largest producer. He added that Baran district suffers heavily from the pollution caused by the Gadepan plant-both air and water pollution-and despite bearing its effects, local farmers were not getting adequate fertiliser supply. "We will fight for the farmers," he said. On allegations made during the election campaign, Bhaya said he has always worked with a large heart. "Allegations and counter-allegations are a normal part of politics. Those who make allegations only have to move their tongue. But those who work have to put in real effort," he stated. Meanwhile, leader of Opposition Tikaram took the opportunity to mount a scathing attack on the state government, claiming that the Anta bypoll results had shaken the government enough to precede the chief secretary and the chief minister's principal secretary's replacement. "They kept saying this result would set the tone for the 2028 final. But the people have shown them a mirror. They should understand the message, which I believe they already have," he said. He also attacked the government of a host of other issues, including the ongoing special intensive revision exercise, questioning the urgency of the exercise, and alleging that the government's claim that the exercise was aimed at the removal of "infiltrators" was misleading. "There are still three years left for the assembly elections. What was the need to rush SIR now? Why is so much pressure being put on BLOs?" asked Jully, adding, "Whenever someone questions them, they say they are checking for infiltrators. You have been in power for 12 years, yet you couldn't trace infiltrators? Why mislead the public now?" "Is the government's job only to rename previous government schemes, shut them down or distribute land to industrialist friends? Seeing all this, people have given them a fitting response in Anta," he added. Responding to Jully's comments, BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bharadwaj said that if election results were truly the basis for administrative changes, then after Congress lost six out of seven bypolls, the party should have replaced Jully and the state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra. He said transfers were a routine process and accused Congress of habitually making baseless statements. "People have rejected them on every front; they should accept this," he added...