Rajasthan IAS Showdown: After Tina Dabi 'Reel Star' Row, Pratapgarh Collector Dr. Anjali Rajoria Calls Out Udaipur MP's 'Undignified' Language in DMFT Funds Feud

Pratapgarh- In Rajasthan's escalating administrative turf wars, another Dalit woman IAS officer is making headlines, hot on the heels of Barmer's Tina Dabi. Pratapgarh District Collector Dr. Anjali Rajoria has fired back at Udaipur MP Mannalal Rawat in a scathing letter to the Chief Secretary, slamming his "undignified" and "fact-twisting" complaints over DMFT (District Mineral Foundation Trust) fund distribution.

Rajoria, a trailblazing officer from a marginalized community, didn't hold back: She accused the MP, himself a former gazetted officer of a deliberate bid to tarnish her image and morale, violating Supreme Court and state guidelines on respectful official correspondence. This clash spotlights the tightrope Dalit IAS women walk in BJP-ruled states, balancing development duties with dignity under fire.

The drama kicked off when MP Rawat penned a fiery complaint to the Chief Secretary, alleging mismanagement of DMFT funds, crucial for mining-hit Pratapgarh's development projects and demanding Rajoria's transfer. But in her detailed rebuttal dated December 25, Rajoria dismantled the claims with cold facts: Of 60 proposals cleared in the November 21, 2024 Governing Council meeting, 54 got technical, administrative, and financial nods. Per Finance Department directives, these were forwarded for approval on April 23, 2025, with Rs 20.06 lakh already disbursed on December 3 for four works in Rawat's Dhariyawad assembly segment

Rajoria reserved her sharpest barbs for the MP's tone: "As a former gazetted officer, he knows administrative protocols inside out, yet he fired off factually inaccurate letters laced with non-official language to the CM and seniors." She framed it as a "malicious act to defame a woman officer and shatter her morale," invoking Supreme Court, High Court, and Personnel Department rules mandating decorum in communications, especially toward women. "Legislators can't demand transfers or charge sheets via letters that's governed by CCA and RSR rules, not political pressure," she asserted, urging the Chief Secretary to intervene.

On regional equity, Rajoria highlighted the imbalance: Pratapgarh's 8 panchayat samitis include just one (Dharjiwad) in Udaipur LS turf, while Pipalkhunt and Banswara fall under others, and the rest in Chittorgarh. "Pushing disproportionate funds to one area defies equitable allocation principles," she noted. Rawat, when pressed, dodged: "Speaking on this would spark a ruckus voicing public demands for development is an MP's duty."

Dr. Anjali Rajoria, the 2015-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, completed her M.B.B.S. from Lady Hardinge Medical College, one of the premier medical institutions in India, before appearing for the Civil Services Examination.

Securing AIR 583 in UPSC CSE 2014 at age 29, this Jaipur-born powerhouse traded her stethoscope for stewardship, now as Pratapgarh's District Collector. Married to fellow IAS Ankit Kumar Singh, her "Mission Drishti" eye health drive for tribal kids has screened 1.47 lakh children, earning raves amid her DMFT funds feud with MP Mannalal Rawat.

She has previously held several important roles such as Collector & District Magistrate, Gangapur City, Additional Divisional Commissioner, Udaipur, Chief Executive Officer, Zila Parishad, Dungarpur, Additional Commissioner (II), T.A.D., Udaipur, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Ajmer and Gogunda, Assistant Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Government of India, Assistant Collector & Executive Magistrate (Under Training), Ajmer.

Tina Dabi Drama Lingers: A Pattern of Dalit IAS Targeting in Rajasthan?

This isn't isolated, echoes of Barmer Collector IAS Tina Dabi's unresolved 'reel star' fiasco still reverberate. Just weeks after clinching the President's top Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari Award in November for water conservation heroics, Dabi faced ABVP-backed student trolls over a fee hike protest, branded a social media show-off ignoring real issues. Bahujan activists decried it as casteist sabotage (#StandWithTinaDabi trended hard), and now Rajoria's row feels like sequel material: Dalit women IAS officers under siege from upper-caste reps in BJP strongholds.