Published 20:51 IST, June 13th 2020
Sachin Pilot rushes to meet Rahul Gandhi in Delhi amid Congress chaos prior to RS polls
In a major development, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot, on Saturday has rushed to Delhi to meet former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi
In a major development, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot, on Saturday has rushed to Delhi to meet former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi at his residence. While the reason for the meeting is not known, the Rajasthan Deputy CM has rushed to Delhi - just six days ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls. Currently, Congress is in turmoil, with both Gujarat and Rajasthan Congress alleging BJP is indulging in horse-trading of MLAs.
Shiv Sena speculates 'Pilot met BJP bigwigs'
Earlier in the day, Congress' Maharashtra ally - Shiv Sena alleged that BJP is destabilizing the Rajasthan government even during the COVID-19 pandemic, via its mouthpiece Saamana. Accusing the BJP of the fall of Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, Sena questioned if Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan met the BJP bigwigs in Delhi. Shiv Sena also said that BJP had attempted the same in Maharashtra to destabilize the Thackeray government, but failed.
It said, "There are also rumors that Sachin Pilot met BJP bigwigs in Delhi, it may be wrong, but this is like warning bell for the Congress camp".
Raj Whip writes to ATS
On Friday, Rajasthan chief whip Mahesh Joshi wrote o the state Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), alleging that certain 'anti-political' entities were involved in horse-trading of MLAs ahead of the Rajya Sabha's biennial elections. He alleged that these kind of horse-trading attempts indicated at money laundering activities by these entities and must be investigated. On one hand, Congress has claimed that it is confident to win two of the three Rajasthan seats in the Rajya Sabha, on the other, it has gathered all its 107 MLAs in a resort in Jaipur and is scheduled to keep them there till June 18.
On Wednesday, Congress MLAs were moved to a resort to reportedly prevent horse-trading attempts. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot alleged that some of the Congress MLAs were offered Rs.25 crore each by BJP with sources reporting that 23 Congress MLAs might defect to BJP. Congress has nominated KC Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi as its candidates, while BJP has fielded Rajendra Gehlot and Onkar Singh Lakhawat for the polls to be held in Jaipur on June 19.
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.
Updated 20:51 IST, June 13th 2020