All depends on HC’s decision on rebel MLAs’ disqualification; Cong seeks Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat’s resignation
Monday will be a crucial day for both Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot camp as the Rajasthan High Court will take call on the plea of rebel MLAs against disqualification notice served on them by the State Assembly Speaker.
Ahead of the court’s hearing, the Congress on Sunday prepared a contingency plan to deal with any adverse fallout of the court’s proceedings and also demanded the resignation of Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for his alleged role in the conspiracy to topple the Gehlot Government.
The Congress contingency plan includes convening a one-day session of the State Assembly on Tuesday or Wednesday to allow Gehlot to prove his majority on the floor of the House.
The Rajasthan HC may prevent the Speaker from taking any coercive action against the MLAs, for skipping the CLP meeting outside the State Assembly, but the MLAs will have a few option but to abide by the Congress whip and vote for Gehlot or face certain disqualification without hoping for any relief from the courts.
Sources in the Congress’ legal team said the party is planning to convene Assembly as the next step, if the court favours Pilot’s team.
Including the dissidents, the Congress has 107 MLAs in the 200-member Assembly and enjoys the support of 13 MLAs, which are either Independent or come from smaller parties. The BJP has 72 MLAs and is backed by three Independents.
If the 19 Congress dissidents are disqualified, the current strength of the State Assembly will come down to 181, slashing the half-way mark to 91 and making it easier for Gehlot to retain majority support. The BTP which has extended support as claimed by Gehlot after he had withdrawn early last week amidst the heightened tension in Rajasthan politics, on Sunday said it is now in a position of kingmakers.
“We have two MLAs in a House of 200, yet we are in the position of kingmakers,” party president Maheshbhai C Vasava told a news agency at Jaipur. Vasava said the party is now extending support to the Gehlot Government after an assurance that its demands related to the development of tribal areas will be met. Ajay Maken on his part said the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Rajasthan police has registered a case in connection with the audio tapes of a purported conversation between Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma, Shekhawat and one Sanjay Jain.
“If Union Minister Shekhawat is claiming that it is not his voice and the reference in the audio clip is of some other Gajendra Singh, then why is he afraid of giving voice samples?” Maken asked at a Press conference.
Maken, along with party chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala, is nominated by the Central leadership to resolve the Rajasthan Congress crisis.
The Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the Rajasthan Government over alleged phone-tapping a day after the State filed FIRs over two audiotapes purportedly showing a plot to topple it.
Maken said Shekhawat has no moral authority to continue as a Union Minister and should resign so that the investigation is not influenced.
Maken also alleged that the police in Haryana and Delhi are giving protection to rebel Congress MLAs from Rajasthan. He said the Centre is threatening in the name of CBI because it wants to stop the probe into the conspiracy.
The crisis in Rajasthan Congress has been brewing since the party picked Gehlot over Pilot for the Chief Minister’s post.
Pilot was sacked as Deputy Chief Minister and the party’s State unit president when he and 18 other MLAs stayed away from two Congress Legislature Party meetings.
The rebel MLAs were served notices by Speaker CP Joshi after the Congress sought their disqualification from the Assembly. The Rajasthan High Court will on Monday resume hearing their petition challenging the notices.
Former Madhya Chief Minister Digvijay Singh urged Pilot not to repeat Jyotiraditya Scindia and reminded him that he was still young enough to carry a long political career.