Speculation galore as Rajasthan rift deepens
PILOT IN DELHI Chief minister Ashok Gehlot summons meeting of party MLAS
NEWDELHI/JAIPUR: Political turmoil within the Congress government in Rajasthan intensified on Sunday, with deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said to be camping in the national capital along with 16 legislators loyal to him.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has summoned Sunday night a meeting of all party MLAS, in an apparent show of strength. The development comes a day after Gehlot accused the BJP of trying to topple his government and just three months after the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh fell.
Several ministers and MLAS visited Gehlot’s home in Jaipur during the day while reports said Pilot, who is also the state Congress president, and some MLAS close to him are now in Delhi.
Gehlot held a meeting with all his ministers on Saturday night.
Rajasthan sports minister Ashok Chandna said whosoever is working to topple the government or thinking along such lines should take lessons from Madhya Pradesh, adding that those who left four months back in MP were “being ill-treated by the BJP.”
“Any person who crosses the party line or dignity will not be respected anywhere in the world. This is not the time to lose the respect earned over generations” said Chandna without naming anyone.
The BJP has dismissed allegations that it was trying to topple the state government, saying the developments reflect a power struggle between Gehlot and Pilot.
BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia took a swipe at his former party, saying talent and capability find “little credence” there.
He claimed Pilot was being “sidelined and persecuted” by Gehlot. “Sad to see my erstwhile colleague Sachin Pilot, too, being sidelined and persecuted by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. Shows that talent and capability find little credence in the Congress,” Scindia tweeted.
Scindia had left the Congress a few months back and joined the BJP. More than 20 MLAS supporting him also left the Congress, leading to the collapse of the the Kamal Nath government in March following which the BJP returned to power in the state.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal tweeted concern. “Worried for our party. Will we wake up only after the horses have bolted from our stables?” he asked.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajasthan unit president Satish Poonia on Sunday rejected claims by the Congress that the BJP was behind the present political uncertainty in the state. “We are not even thinking about forming a government in the state. This government will fall of its own ‘karma’ (deeds). We (BJP) are sitting in the spectator’s gallery and watching the drama unfold,” BJP state president told ANI.
On Sunday, Gehlot met several legislators and ministers who