Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot visits Governor Kalraj Mishra at Raj Bhavan today.
Hours after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot claimed support from the two MLAs of Bhartiya Tribal Party(BTP), he visited Governor Kalraj Mishra at Raj Bhavan on Saturday. The chief minister in his tweet said that they discussed about the efforts being taken to control the spread of coronavirus in the state.
With the two BTP MLAs confirming support to the Gehlot government, the strength of the Congress in the Rajasthan Assembly now effectively stands at 90. The Rajasthan High Court has extended till Tuesday evening the deadline set by Speaker C P Joshi to the 19 rebel state Congress MLAs to respond to his showcause notices.
Meanwhile, the political row between the Congress and the BJP over the audio tapes, in which Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma are allegedly heard plotting to topple the Ashok Gehlot government, continued on Saturday with the saffron party demanding a CBI probe. “Did the Rajasthan government use unconstitutional ways to save themselves when they found themselves cornered? Is the phone of any person who is related to politics is being tapped?” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.
The Congress responded to the above claims by saying that the saffron party has finally admitted to its role in the “murder of democracy”. “The BJP has now admitted to its role in the murder of democracy in Rajasthan. Their only grievance was that when we were murdering, why were we getting recorded and if we were getting recorded was it legal,” party spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
Rajasthan Government crisis Live: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with his deputy Sachin Pilot. (PTI/File)
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday payed a courtesy visit to Governor Kalraj Mishra at Raj Bhavan. The chief minister in his tweet said that discussed about the efforts being taken to control the spread of coronavirus in the state.
BJP MP from Rajsamand Diya Kumari on Saturday hit back at the Congress for blaming the BJP for its "internal strife" and claimed that the root of the controversy is the continuing war of supremacy within the ruling party in Rajasthan.
She said blaming BJP leaders at the Centre or in the state for the political tussle in Rajasthan is a "reflection of the Congress' frustration".
It is ridiculous and condemnable to blame the BJP for Congress' "internal strife", Diya Kumari said.
"The people of Rajasthan will never forgive them that instead of providing relief to the people in these pandemic times, the Congress MLAs are learning to make Italian dishes in a five-star hotel," the MP, who is a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, said in a statement.
From performing yoga to getting cooking tips, Rajasthan Congress MLAs of Ashok Gehlot camp are engaging themselves in various activities in a five-star hotel on the Delhi Highway where they have been staying since Monday amid the political crisis in the state. In many photos and videos doing the rounds on social media, some of the legislators are seen doing yoga in the hotel lawn, crowding around a chef cooking food, watching movies, playing carrom and celebrating the birthday of an MLA. In a video, mostly women legislators including minister Mamta Bhupesh and Olympian Krishna Poonia are seen among others crowding around a chef. Taking a dig at the Congress, the BJP accusing the Rajasthan ruling party legislators of violating social distancing norms and other COVID-19 protocols which the government directs people to follow strictly but are violated when it comes to its MLAs. "The MLAs are seen without wearing face masks and not following social distancing norms. The government is not allowing gathering of more than 50 people in view of the coronavirus pandemic but no such rule is followed here," BJP state president Satish Poonia said.
Veteran Rajasthan BJP leader and former assembly speaker Kailash Chandra Meghwal on Saturday expressed his displeasure at alleged attempts to topple the Congress government when the state faces many challenges. "Rajasthan politics has been derailed. It is unfortunate that attempts are being made to destabilise the government when the state faces the danger of COVID-19 pandemic and also unemployment among its poor. This is not appropriate. This is due to internal feud within the Congress," he told PTI. Meghwal, an MLA considered close to former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, said it was "condemnable" that people had resorted to "immoral tactics, ugly politics and horse-trading" to destabilise the government. Only a stable government can deal with the challenges like coronavirus and unemployment, he said. He also said that leaders have no right to topple a government, be it of any political party.
Days after BTP party issued a whip asking the MLAs to abstain from voting for any side, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday confirmed support from the two MLAs of Bhartiya Tribal Party(BTP).
A Jaipur court on Saturday court sent Sanjay Jain, accused by the Rajasthan Congress for allegedly trying to topple the government, to four-day remand of Special Operations Group (SOG) team of Rajasthan Police.
Earlier, Rajasthan Police's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case in connection with two audio clips of conversations purportedly regarding a "conspiracy" to topple the Ashok Gehlot government. DG ACB Alok Tripathi on Saturday said that the FIR was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint by Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi on Friday. In the FIR, details of conversations of rebel MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma with Sanjay Jain and Union minister Gajendra Singh are mentioned. While the Congress alleged that Sanjay Jain is a BJP leader, the saffron party rejected the allegation, saying he had no connection with the BJP.
"We will send the audio clips to the Forensic Science Laboratory for testing," the police official told reporters.Prior to the ACB, the Special Operations Group of the Rajasthan Police (SOG) had registered two FIRs on Friday morning and arrested Sanjay Jain in connection with one case on Friday night. Jain's name had surfaced in a viral audio recording about horse trading of legislators to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan.
Vasundhara Raje Scindia, former Rajasthan CM and tallest BJP leader in the state on Saturday expressed her views on the ongoing Rajasthan government crisis and said "it is unfortunate that the people of Rajasthan are paying for the discord within the Congress."
While two audio clips have formed the basis for separate FIRs by the Special Operations Group of Rajasthan Police for an alleged conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government, a third audio clip, released by the ruling Congress on Thursday evening, has two people talking purportedly about an “amount”, and also mentioning names of Congress MLAs. This clip is not mentioned in the FIRs. The clip has one person purportedly asking, “The talk of amount has been done?”. To this, the other answers in the affirmative. The conversation takes place in Hindi and Rajasthani. The audio clip was sent to reporters by Lokesh Sharma, OSD to the Rajasthan Chief Minister, on Thursday evening. The Indian Express cannot independently verify authenticity of the audio clip.
Taking to Twitter, Congress said: "An independent investigation must begin into BJP's nefarious activities in Rajasthan. Who is providing all this black money & where did it come from?"
Congress leader Pawan Khera addressed the media today. You can listen here.
Rebel Congress MLA Vishvendra Singh today hit out at CM Gehlot for mocking his former deputy Sachin Pilot earlier. He said: "Even Rajiv Gandhi was handsome and could speak English very well," he tweeted.
"I challenge the BJP to free the 19 MLAs, they will return to the Congress. The MLAs know that if people see them as 'sell-outs', they will not be able to face the public," Raghu Sharma, Rajasthan Minister and Congress leader, was quoted as saying by ANI.
“What is the reason that Sachin Pilot trusts the Haryana police more than the Rajasthan police? We want to know. On the one hand, celebrated lawyers close to the BJP are trying to prove in the court of law in Rajasthan that Pilot and all the MLAs are part of the Congress party and on the other hand, these MLAs take protection from Haryana police and under that protection, try and escape from the hotel when the Rajasthan police team reaches to take the voice samples. If you are part of the Congress, why are you in the custody of a BJP-ruled state? We are told attempts are being made to take them to another BJP-ruled state of Karnataka,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
Taking to Twitter, BSP leader Mayawati said: "It is clear that the Rajasthan CM is violating the law. They first roped in the Bahujan Samajwadi Party MLAs. Now, they have again violated the law by illegally tapping phones. The President's rule should be imposed in the state."
For the first time in the history, the Haryana police blocked the SOG from collecting the voice samples and made sure the MLAs escaped. The BJP used the Khattar government in Haryana to thwart the probe. Does Sachin Pilot trust Haryana cops more than Rajasthan Police? These MLAs belong to the Congress but they are taking protection from Haryana Police. All the MLAs against whom there was no FIR also tried to escape from the hotel. This makes it amply clear that it is a BJP operation. They are not denying it anyway. Their only grievance is why were their phones tapped."
Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said: "We all witnessed, over the last 10 days, the daylight murder of democracy being attempted by BJP. Every day, a new layer comes out exposing the links of the BJP in trying to create some crisis in Rajasthan. BJP's claims today is like watching me murder someone and then complain to the cops. Isn't he intruding upon my space to see me committing the crime?"
“Our morality is clear… No fictional stories can shake us,” BJP's Patra today said, adding that the Rajasthan Chief Minister should answer the questions asked by the saffron party. The BJP leader added that “the reality is that since the Congress came into power, there has been a dual on the street between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot on who would be the Chief Minister.” He pointed out citing Gehlot’s remarks that the chief minister and deputy chief minister had not been in talking terms for the last 18 months. “The sin was theirs… the conspiracy existed within the Congress, but the allegations were against the BJP. They came out with audio clips, which were manufactured, to accuse the BJP of conspiracies,” Patra said. Click here to read more.
Taking to Twitter late on Friday night, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the BJP has been indulging in horse-trading activities for the past two months.
As political events unfold at a rapid pace in Jaipur, the main figure in Opposition BJP has been keeping a calculated distance. Unlike in neighboring Madhya Pradesh, where a similar political drama led to BJP replacing the Congress government and the party had Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and senior leaders in the loop for negotiations, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, former Rajasthan CM and tallest BJP leader in the state, has been missing in action in the developments in Jaipur. A source close to Raje said she did not want to be part of the developments since the party leadership “did not keep her informed about the events, nor did they have any discussions with her”. According to the source, she did not want to take “credit” for disrupting the government, as she “would not like to take the blame if it does not see positive results”.
Patra continued: "These are serious questions that we want to ask the Rajasthan Congress and Ashok Gehlot. 1. Was phone taping done? The Congress govt in Rajasthan must answer. 2. Is it not a sensitive and legal issue, if phone taping has been done? 4. Did the Congress govt in Rajasthan use unconstitutional ways to save themselves when they found themselves cornered? 5. Is phone of any person who is related to politics is being tapped?" He added: "Phone tapping can only be done by authorized agencies as per due process of law and subject to approve safe-guards and SOPs. Each case is also reviewed by a committee chaired by a Cabinet Secretary in case of Central and State Secretary in case of a state government."
Addressing the media on the alleged audio tapes recovered by the Congress, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said: "They are putting the blame on us. But we blame them. You (Congress) have put the people in the dark. Our morality is crystal clear. We work in accordinance with the law and no manufactured stories can shake our foundation. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is busy playing around with videos. This is playing with the privacy of the people. We demand a CBI probe into the case."
BJP's Laxmikant Bhardwaj on Friday filed a complaint against Congress leaders Mahesh Joshi, Randeep Surjewala, among others, at Ashok Nagar Police Station in Delhi, over the "manufactured audio clip" and false statements by the party.
On the drama at Manesar hotel, a senior police officer said, “The police deployment is routine. It is done whenever a politically charged atmosphere builds up. It was done to protect the hotel property and prevent disturbance.” A top official in Haryana government said, “Privacy of guests is a top priority of any hotel. SOG was told that there was nobody inside whom they want to question, but they insisted they would like to search the resort’s rooms. That was not allowed since they did not have search warrants.”
Policemen keep vigil outside the hotel in Manesar, Haryana, on Friday.
There was high drama at a hotel in Manesar on Friday as a team of Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police arrived to collect voice samples of some dissident Congress MLAs. They reached around 6.15 pm to find Haryana Police personnel denying them entry. After much discussion, they were finally allowed into the premises at 7.45 pm. Haryana Police personnel were deployed outside the ITC Grand Bharat since morning. When the SOG arrived, the five-member team was first denied entry by hotel staff and some policemen at the spot. Haryana Police Inspector Jitender Kumar then arrived and told the SOG team to park their vehicle on one side. He also sought their documentation on the case. As additional forces arrived, discussions between police officials from both states continued for over an hour. A police officer present outside the hotel told The Indian Express, “They were allowed inside around 7.45 pm after their documents were checked and due permission was granted. They left an hour later.”
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday said that the state government is investigating allegations made by state Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant, accusing the BJP of raising money from businessmen in Mumbai to fund a conspiracy to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan. “There seems to be truth in these claims. We are collecting inputs about how much money was sent and how it was transferred to Rajasthan. Once we gather complete information, we will decide on the next course of action,” Deshmukh told The Indian Express. Sawant on Friday accused the BJP of raising money from businessmen in Mumbai to fund the conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government.
The Rajasthan BJP on Friday accused the Congress of dragging it in the internal fight between the party's two camps in the state. BJP state president Satish Poonia hit out at Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, for levelling "false allegations" against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to defame him. "Surjewala is giving statements as if he is the DG of the SOG (Special Operation Group). Congress party and its government are conspiring to defame the BJP and dragging it in its internal fight between two leaders," PTI quoted Poonia as saying at a press conference.
He also asserted that Sanjay Jain, whose name surfaced in audio clips, has no connection with the BJP. Surjewala had dubbed Jain as a BJP leader but he is actually a Congress block president of Lunkaransar of Bikaner district, said Poonia.
Meanwhile, a senior officer with Haryana Police denied having stopped Rajasthan Police Team to enter the Manesar resort. 'We haven't stopped anybody from performing their legal duties. Haryana police also go to other states in connection with investigation of different cases,' a senior Haryana police officer said requesting anonymity, adding that it's a highly sensitive political matter.
A Special Operations Group (SOG) team of Rajasthan Police was on Friday evening stopped by Haryana police from entering a hotel in Gurgaon, where some of the rebel Congress MLAs are said to be putting up. The team had arrived at the hotel in Manesar in BJP-ruled Haryana to collect voice samples of some of the dissident MLAs. FIRs were lodged in connection with two audio clips in which some people are purportedly heard discussing plans to topple the Congress government in the state.
Hearing before Assembly Speaker (on notice issued to Sachin Pilot & other MLAs) that was scheduled to be held today has been deferred till 5:30 pm Tuesday. No action can be taken against MLAs till then: Lawyer Prateek Kasliwal, who is representing Speaker C P Joshi at Rajasthan HC
Poonia said his name was also mentioned in audio clips, purportedly having conversations among Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma, Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat and a person named Sanjay Jain. He added that he would go to the Special Operations Group (SOG) to record his statement.
Rajasthan's lone CPI(M) MLA Balwan Poonia Friday pledged his support to the Ashok Gehlot government in the state, saying any attempt to topple it will not succeed, reported PTI. He said he would vote in favour of the Congress government if there is a floor test in the assembly. "The BJP is committing the sin of trying to topple an elected government. They will not succeed," the MLA was quoted by PTI as saying at his official residence IN Jaipur.
The court said it would resume hearing on Monday 10 am.
The Rajasthan High Court division bench, that was hearing a petition filed by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot’s camp against the disqualification notices issued to them, directed the state Assembly Speaker not to take any action on the rebel MLAs before Tuesday 5.30 pm. The Speaker was expected to take up the matter at 5 pm today.
Dr AM Singhvi, appearing for the respondents, submitted that the Court cannot interfere with the notice issued by the Speaker, Live Law reported. He said that the petition challenging the show-cause notice issued by Speaker is "premature". They can raise the contentions before the Speaker, he added.
Hearing of the Pilot camp's petition continues before the division bench of Rajasthan High Court, Live Law reports. Now, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi starts, after the submissions of Salve who was Congress dissident MLAs.
A Special Operations Group team left for Manesar in Haryana Friday morning to record statements of Congress MLAs purportedly heard talking in the audio tapes clip about horse-trading of legislators to topple the Gehlot government in Rajasthan, an official said on Friday. Dissident Congress legislators, supporting Rajasthan's former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, are holed up in a Manesar resort. 'A team is ready and will leave for Manesar to ascertain the versions of those whose names have come up in audio clips as there have been statements that these audio clips are fake or morphed,' PTI quoted ADG (ATS & SOG) Ashok Rathore as saying.
The bench, which is on a break, will resume its hearing at 2.50 pm, according to Live Law.
Speaker C P Joshi is expected to take up the matter pertaining to the disqualification of the MLAs at 5 pm, instead of 1 pm as mentioned in the notices.
Continuing his arguments, Salve said the disqualification notices are an attempt to stifle 'freedom of speech' and internal discussions. "Whip is not applicable to meetings at homes and hotels; only applies to proceedings within House," he was quoted as saying by Live Law.
In the court, Salve submitted that the petitioner raised voice to central governing body of party against "dictatorship" of CM Gehlot. This is in exercise of freedom of speech of legislators and will not amount to 'defection', he added, Live Law reported.
Rajasthan Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta are currently hearing the pleas. The bench allowed Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi's plea to be added as a respondent in the case. Acts outside the House are not violation of anti-defection law, Congress dissident MLAs' advocate Harish Salve said in the court.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Sambit Patra said: "The BJP rejects all the baseless allegations being levelled against the BJP leaders by Congress in Rajasthan. Actually, Congress is frustrated as it couldn't put its house in order. They want to blame BJP for their failures by using a manufactured audio clip."
The Rajasthan High Court has begun hearing the plea of Pilot and 18 other MLAs against the Speaker's disqualification notice.
The Rajasthan High Court is slated to hear a petition filed by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs against the disqualification notices issued to them by Assembly Speaker C P Joshi at 1 pm. The notices were served after the ruling party complained to the Speaker that the MLAs had defied a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings, on Monday and Tuesday.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Ashoke Rathore, ADG Special Operations Group (SOG), Rajasthan, said: "There were two complaints from Mahesh Joshi (Congress leader) with respect to the audio that went viral yesterday. We have registered 2 FIRs under sections 124A and 120B. The veracity of the clip is yet to be investigated. Sanjay Jain was interrogated yesterday, he was called in today as well. Presently, we are trying to ascertain some facts from him."
"What happened today was shameful for the politics of Rajasthan. The chief minister's residence is becoming a centre of fake audio and attempting character assassination of leaders. Attempts have been made to drag Central Ministers in the matter," Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia was quoted as saying by ANI.
Reacting to Congress' allegations and the subsequent FIR, Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat said: "It is not my voice. I don't know which Sanjay Jain they are talking about. I know many people in that name. If I had talked to someone, my number should be there. You can conduct a probe. I am ready for an investigation."
Taking a swipe at Sachin Pilot over his claim that he is not joining the BJP, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Thursday asked what happens to his ‘ghar wapsi’ and whether Rajasthan’s dissident legislators are vacationing in Haryana under the “watchful eye” of the saffron party. Pilot has been sacked by the party as Rajasthan deputy chief minister and PCC chief after he openly revolted against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. As speculation mounted about his next steps, Pilot said he is not joining the BJP. “False rumours spread to malign. Pilot: ‘I am not joining BJP’. I guess then legislators at a hotel in Manesar is merely a vacation in Haryana’s comfort zone under BJP’s watchful eye. What about ‘ghar wapsi’,” Sibal asked on Twitter.
Following the Congress' claims of horse trading, an FIR has now been filed against Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat.
Keeping the Congress guessing, Sachin Pilot sprang a surprise Thursday by reaching out to senior party leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram even as he approached the Rajasthan High Court to challenge the disqualification proceedings initiated against him and 18 other MLAs.Pilot spoke to Chidambaram, a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, over phone in a reach-out that came days after the Congress stripped him of the posts of Deputy Chief Minister and president of the Rajasthan PCC. “I just reiterated that the leadership had publicly invited him to meet with it, and all issues can be discussed. I advised him to seize the opportunity,” Chidambaram told The Indian Express.
Amid the political turmoil in Rajasthan, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday sought to project itself as an alternative, saying the Congress is on "ventilator" and is unlikely to survive while accusing the political parties of playing "dirty politics" at a time when the focus should be on battling the coronavirus pandemic. AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said neither the Congress has any future nor can it give any future to this country and his party, with fresh blood and invigorating force, needs to step up and become the alternative. "At this time of crisis when our country is looking for cooperation from all political parties against this pandemic, we have one political party which is selling their MLAs and another political party which is buying MLAs," he was quoted as telling reporters. Hitting back, the Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary tweeted, "Anyway, if you vote for Kejriwal, you get Amit Shah (BJP leader and Home Minister) to rule Delhi, Congress cannot offer such a dual offer."
Speaking to news agency ANI, Rajasthan Congress Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi said: I have complained to the Special Operations Group (SOG) seeking an investigation, registration of case and appropriate action (against those involved in horse trading).
Sachin Pilot's statement about CM Ashok Gehlot being busy helping former chief minister Vasundhara Raje keep her official bungalow instead of fulfilling promises made in the election manifesto reflects his frustration, two BJP MLAs said on Thursday. According to PTI, BJP MLAs Kailash Maghwal and Pratap Singhvi, in a statement, highlighted that Raje had served as the chief minister of the state twice, was a five-time legislator and also the leader of the opposition. Pilot, the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister had in an interview said that Gehlot was busy ensuring that Raje does not have to vacate her government bungalow. "The bungalow is allotted to Vasundhara Raje as she is a senior MLA. Bungalows are allotted to senior MLAs from time to time," the legislators said in the statement. "It is a reality that Sachin Pilot is hurt as Vasundhara Raje defeated his mother Rama Pilot in the 2003 Assembly election," they added.
Surjewala added that rebel leader Sachin Pilot should come forward and make his stand public on the allegations of providing the MLAs' list to the saffron party.
"I demand that an FIR by the Special Operations Group be filed against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and a probe be initiated into the tape. If it is suspected that he could influence the probe, then a warrant should be issued and he should be arrested immediately: We also demand that Congress MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma and BJP leader Sanjay Jain be booked. It should also be probed as to who arranged the 'black money' to bribe the MLAs and who were given the bribe," Surjewala said.
The Congress has also suspended MLAs Vishvendra Singh and Bhanwaralal Sharma as primary members after they were heard in the purported audio clip, spoksperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
During the media address, Surjewala referred to the contents of an audiotape of a purported conversation between a union minister and the rebel MLAs to allegedly topple the Ashok Gehlot government, "The BJP's "greed was seen in Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and can now be seen in Rajasthan". He also accused BJP's Gajendra Shekhawat of bribing the Congress MLAs amid the government crisis and demanded an FIR in this regard.