Jaipur, Feb. 1 -- The leader of opposition in the state assembly Tikaram Jully on Saturday said that Rajasthan is slowly becoming a "colony of Gujarat", hours after a report came out that officials of the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited (RRECL) issued two tenders worth Rs.456 crore to a Gujarat-based blacklisted company without primary verification. "I had warned a year ago that Rajasthan is slowly turning into a colony of Gujarat. These orders come from the top to give work to Gujarati contractors and firms and contracts are given without any primary verification only to please the higher authorities. This latest scam, that happened with the connivance of the double engine government, is just an example of what I said," said Jully on X. According to the officials, some irregularities related to the matter first came to the fore in July last year following which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was appointed to probe the matter. "In its recent report, CBI stated that RRECL issued two forged tenders worth Rs.456 crores to a Gujarat based firm in 42 days. However, the company was blacklisted in Gujarat a few years ago. The RRECL officials neither verified the background of the company, nor checked their feasibility, progress reports, or bank guarantees while issuing the tenders," said Jully quoting a news report. It also said that the company also paid an advance of Rs.46.30 crores for two tenders on March 12 and June 6 last year. The tenders were issued for a rooftop solar project worth 37MW in the government buildings in Baran and Pali. "Who should now be held accountable for this scam? Under whose direction did it happen? Such a heinous game of diverting Rajasthan's funds to Gujarat-based firms must end. We will raise the matter from the House to the streets," said Jully. Meanwhile, without naming the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the home minister Amit Shah, the former chief minister Ashok Gehlot also said that "this is an attempt to please some people." "Over the last two years, Rajasthani businessmen have been complaining that Gujarat-based firms and contractors are consistently being given undue favour to get tenders. Everybody knows who these people are, meant to be pleased in this way. This is why such fraudulent practices are happening in the state," he said on X. "This Rs.456 crore solar tender and Rs.46 crore advance in Rajasthan is not just about a fake firm, but also a symbol of a scam that flourished under the patronage of the BJP government. The irony is that the BJP government, which does physical verification for giving Rs.1000 pension to a poor man, gives a tender worth Rs.456 crore to a firm without any physical verification," he added. Reacting to the allegations, state BJP vice-president Shravan Bagdi said, "Our government has a zero tolerance policy to any corruption. The matter was handed over to CBI and necessary action will be taken against the culprits."...