BJP leaders trying to topple govt, Gehlot writes to Modi

nJAIPUR: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and some other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were part of a conspiracy to topple his government in Rajasthan at a time the Centre and state should be working together to fight Covid-19.

Chief minister Gehlot’s letter comes in the backdrop of his former deputy Sachin Pilot’s revolt against his government along with 18 Congress lawmakers. He wrote that a “very ambitious leader of our party” was also involved in the alleged attempt to topple the government.

Gehlot added that the leaders involved in the attempts to bring down his government included Congress lawmaker Bhanwar Lal Sharma, who also allegedly tried to dislodge Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s Bharatiya Janata Party government by trying to bribe MLAS in 1996.

The Congress has suspended Bhanwarlal Sharma and another MLA, Vishvendra Singh, both from the Pilot camp, from the primary membership of the party for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy.

“Then, I as state Congress chief, personally met then [Rajasthan] governor Baliram Bhagat and then prime minister Narsimha Rao and protested that by the horse trading elected government was being toppled [and that it] is against the democratic values,” he said.

BJP’S Rajasthan president Satish Poonia said the language used by the Rajasthan chief minister in his letter showed that the state government was in minority. In response to Gehlot’s letter, Poonia wrote an “open letter”, saying the Rajasthan CM and his party were responsible for “anarchism and instability” prevailing in the state and they were instead blaming the BJP “without any reason”.

Gehlot said he was saddened that when the Centre and the state should be saving livelihoods of people, the ruling party at the Centre was regularly trying to topple Congress governments, ignoring its Covid-19 management priorities.

“The same accusation was levhe elled when the Madhya Pradesh government fell during Covid and it gave a bad name to your party,” he said.

Gehlot said the spirit of the anti-defection law passed in 1985, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, and amended under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s leadership at the Centre was being violated. He added that attempts were being made to destabilise democratically elected states governments.

He expressed confidence that truth will prevail and his government will complete its full term. “I am not aware till what extent you are aware of this information or else you are being misled,” Gehlot said, citing examples of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, where he said democratically elected governments were toppled through horse trading.

The Congress has alleged Shekhawat’s voice can be heard in audio tapes purportedly recording conversations detailing a plot to topple the state government. Shekhawat has denied the charge and said he is ready for a probe.

Sharma, too, has denied allegations against him, calling them fake.

BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek accused Gehlot of trying to misguide the people through the letter and sought evidence of the allegations in it. “This letter is politically motivated and to misguide the public.”

GEHLOT ADDED THAT THE LEADERS INVOLVED IN THE ATTEMPTS TO BRING DOWN HIS GOVERNMENT INCLUDED CONGRESS LAWMAKER BHANWAR LAL SHARMA