A sharp political dispute over the origins of the Pachpadra Refinery in Balotra district, Rajasthan erupted on 4 July, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived to inaugurate the project, with former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and incumbent Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma trading accusations over who deserves credit for one of the state's largest industrial undertakings.

How the Dispute Began

The controversy was triggered after Chief Minister Sharma reportedly stated that the foundation stone for the Pachpadra Refinery was laid by Prime Minister Modi in 2018. The claim drew an immediate rebuttal from Gehlot, who described the statement as factually incorrect and, in his words, 'unfortunate.'

Gehlot argued that it was concerning for a sitting Chief Minister to be allegedly unaware of the documented history of a flagship state development project.

Gehlot's Counter-Claim: 2013 Foundation, Congress Roots

To substantiate his position, Gehlot shared photographs on social media purportedly from the refinery's original foundation-laying ceremony in 2013. According to him, the event was attended by then UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former Union Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily.

Gehlot asserted that these photographs and official records demonstrate that the project was formally launched under the Congress government. He also alleged that after construction work commenced in 2013, the project remained largely stalled for nearly five years following a change in government — a charge directed squarely at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administrations at both the state and Centre.

Cost Escalation and the HPCL Stake Deal

The political standoff also surfaced significant financial concerns. According to Gehlot, the delay caused the project's estimated cost to balloon from approximately ₹37,000 crore to nearly ₹80,000 crore — a near-doubling that he attributed to the years of stagnation under subsequent governments.

Gehlot further highlighted what he described as a landmark negotiation by the then-Congress administration: securing a 26 per cent equity stake for Rajasthan in the project — unusual, he noted, given that state governments typically do not hold equity in refinery ventures. This arrangement, he said, enabled the formation of the joint venture HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), involving Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).

Gehlot's Call for Transparency

Concluding his public remarks, Gehlot urged Chief Minister Sharma to consult official files, records, and documents held with the state administration and Secretariat before making public statements about the project. He said this would help ensure accurate information reaches citizens and prevent historical facts from being misrepresented.

The Bigger Picture

The Pachpadra Refinery — described as the country's first integrated greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical complex — carries enormous economic weight for Rajasthan, a desert state not traditionally associated with heavy industry. The credit dispute reflects a broader pattern in Indian politics where inaugurations of long-gestating infrastructure projects routinely become flashpoints between outgoing and incoming administrations. Notably, this is not the first time a major Central or state project has been contested along these lines ahead of a high-profile Prime Ministerial visit. With PM Modi arriving to inaugurate the facility, both parties evidently calculated that the optics of ownership over the project carried significant political value.