Amid Rajasthan tussle; BJP's Jay Panda drops big hint about Sachin Pilot's eventual fate

Amid the tussle in the Rajasthan Congress and the alleged fissure between CM Ashok Gehlot and Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, BJP's National Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda has taken to Twitter and said that there is a cost of 'suppressing talent in favour of undeserving.' On Sunday, even as Sachin Pilot is planning a show of strength in Delhi, with Rajasthan ATS and SOG summoning him allegedly after leaders of the latter agencies met with CM Ashok Gehlot, Panda in a tweet wrote that when undeserving are favoured for a long time, there comes a time that 'they will go elsewhere to achieve its true potential.' 

This comes as Congress' Kapil Sibal has seemingly called out the high command in a tweet and asked whether the grand-old-party 'wake up' only after the 'horses have bolted from our stables?' Notably, Panda had joined the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls from the BJD and was appointed VP of the BJP. His remark is being seen as a hint by the BJP amid the ongoing tussle.

Sachin Pilot is currently in Delhi with his MLAs and Ashok Gehlot is monitoring the situation from his residence in Jaipur.

READ | Rajasthan LIVE Updates

Rajasthan SOG files FIR

On Saturday, Rajasthan's Special Operations Group (SOG) had registered an FIR against the alleged attempt to topple the Congress-led government in the state. The FIR was registered on the basis of a conversation between two individuals, whose phones were being tapped. Both the primarily accused individuals were arrested and an investigation by the SOG is underway.

Meanwhile, BJP refuted all allegations of horse-trading and in turn, attributed the destabilization in the Rajasthan government to an internal rift amongst Congress leaders. Union Minister and BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, while downplaying all allegations made by Gehlot, stated that it is an attempt by the Congress to defame the BJP.

READ | Phones of MPs, MLAs are being taped by Rajasthan Police's SOG, alleges RLP leader

Gehlot accuses BJP of horse-trading

On Saturday, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot accused the BJP of offering money to Congress leaders in an attempt to topple the ruling government. 20 Cong MLAs in Rajasthan late Friday night had also alleged the BJP was trying to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in the state by "luring" legislators, and that the top leadership of the saffron party was involved in the "conspiracy". This move comes four months after Congress government in Madhya Pradesh was toppled by Pilot's peer - Jyotiraditya Scindia and 22 MLAs who resigned from their posts.

The tussle between Congress and BJP began last month in the run-up to Rajya Sabha elections, with the former levelling similar allegations of horsetrading against the latter. However, both the Congress candidates, KC Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi, had won the Rajya Sabha polls, while the BJP had managed to secure one seat for Rajendra Gehlot in the Rajya Sabha polls. In the assembly of 200, the Congress has 107 MLAs, including six who defected to the party from the BSP last year. The party enjoys the support of 12 of the 13 Independent MLAs in the state, while BJP has 72 MLAs and RLP has 3 MLAs.

READ | Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot summons ministers as govt hints at collapse, Pilot skips meeting

READ | Rajasthan MLAs join Sachin Pilot in Delhi; Dy CM plots show-of-strength as Gehlot watches