Published 20:24 IST, August 13th 2020
Gehlot to seek vote of confidence in Assembly on August 14, takes dig at Pilot camp MLAs
Speaking at the Congress Legislative Party meeting, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot announced that he would seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly on Friday
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Speaking at the Congress Legislative Party meeting, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot announced that he would seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly session on Friday. He reportedly assured that the grievances of the disgruntled MLAs will be addressed. Taking a dig at his former deputy Sachin Pilot, Gehlot claimed that the state government could have proved its majority even without the rebel 19 MLAs.
At the same time, he added that such a step would not have brought happiness for Congress. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Congress president Govind Dotasra claimed that BJP's British style conspiracy of 'divide and rule' had failed in the state. After the meeting, Congress MLAs returned to Jaipur's Fairmont Hotel.
We could have proved the majority even without these 19 MLAs (Sachin Pilot & 18 MLAs who were supporting him) but it would not have given us happiness. We will bring Vote of Confidence: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at CLP meeting earlier today (file pic) pic.twitter.com/CqE8k3CcLT
— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2020
Suspension of two MLAs revoked
Earlier in the day, the suspension of party MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Bharatpur was revoked. They were key members of the Pilot camp which flew to Delhi on July 11 leading to a crisis in the Rajasthan Congress. According to Congress general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande, this decision was taken after a consultative discussion.
On July 17, the aforesaid legislators were suspended from the primary membership of Congress after audio recordings allegedly nailing their role in horse-trading surfaced. Subsequently, Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi filed a complaint with Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group against the names featuring in the tapes. Interestingly, Sharma met the Rajasthan CM at his residence in Jaipur on Monday and affirmed his faith in Ashok Gehlot's leadership.
Pilot's reconciliation with Congress
Sachin Pilot’s departure to Delhi with some of his supporting legislators on July 11 set off alarm bells in the Congress camp. The rift between CM Ashok Gehlot and him widened after the legislators belonging to his camp skipped two Legislative Party meetings. Despite Pilot's insistence that he will not join BJP, the Congress party sacked him as the Deputy CM and the PCC chief.
The efforts to ensure the stability of the Congress government bore fruit on Monday when Pilot met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the national capital. In an official statement, Congress confirmed Pilot's commitment to the party. A three-member committee was constituted to address the issues raised by the Pilot camp MLAs and reach an appropriate resolution.
20:24 IST, August 13th 2020