Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written a stinging letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him not to 're-lay' the foundation stone of Barmer refinery.

PM Modi is scheduled to visit Rajasthan's Barmer district on January 16 to inaugurate the project.

In his letter, Gehlot also stated that the foundation stone of the refinery was laid by former Congress President Sonia Gandhi in September 2013.

Here's a verbatim of the letter:

"This is to remind you about my earlier letter No. PS/Ex-CM/2017 dated 12 August 2017 (copy enclosed), in which I had brought to your notice the facts about the 9 MMT capacity refinery with Petrochemical complex at Pachpadra in the Barmer district of Rajasthan.

It was launched by the UPA government in the Centre and the Congress government in Rajasthan in the year 2013. It has been reported in the newspapers that you are going to re-lay the foundation stone of on 16 January 2018, whereas it had already been laid by the former UPA chairperson Smt Gandhi on 22 September 2013."

Gehlot, in his letter, has claimed that due to obstacles created by the current Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, the project has not made any progress.

"One could appreciate inviting you on completion of the project. But unfortunately due to obstacles created by the present Chief Minister the project did not move an inch," the letter states.

Gehlot also claimed that it seems the Rajasthan government did not apprise him deliberately of the facts to land him in an embarrassing situation.

"You are aware that holy mantras are chanted and pooja is performed at the time of foundation stone laying ceremony and inauguration. To chant the same mantras and perform the same pooja all over again for the very same project is against the religious sanctity. Moreover, the public does not view it in a positive manner. Re-laying of foundation stone is, indeed, not a healthy tradition in a democratic setup where governments keep changing."

"It seems to me that the state government has deliberately not apprised you to these facts to create an embarrassing situation for the PM. Hope you will re-think about your decision to re-lay the foundation," the letter concludes.