Ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, the Rajasthan Congress, in an effort to prevent poaching, has moved all its MLAS to a luxury resort on the Jaipur-Delhi highway. The MLAS had been called for an urgent meeting at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s residence on Wednesday evening they were told they were being directly moved to Shiv Vilas resort on Kukas and they would be staying there till the Rajya Sabha elections on June 19.
None of the MLAs who attended the meeting were aware that they would be sent to the resort to prevent possibility of poaching. They were told to call up and arrange for whatever essentials they needed during their stay. Some trusted MLAs had gone home in the night and promised to return on Thursday.
Gehlot too reached the resort and had dinner with the MLAS. Speaking to the media, Gehlot came down heavily on the BJP terming it a ‘fascist party engaged in horse trading’. "The BJP has been engaged in horse trading in Gujarat. It is playing a very dangerous game. How long can they indulge in the politics of horse trading? Such people need to be given shock treatment and the public will do it in coming times. We had a very fruitful meeting. Our leader Randeep Singh Surjewala was also present. Our candidate K C Venugopal and state in-charge Avinash Pande will be arriving on Thursday," said Gehlot.
The chief minister further said, "We have been engaged in saving lives and livelihoods during the pandemic, but this election has been announced. It could have taken place earlier, but they were delayed by exerting pressure on the election commission. Unlike those who defected in Madhya Pradesh, our MLAs are very intelligent. They have been given hefty offers but have resisted them to stay with us. All 13 independents who have expressed support to us are with us."
Earlier on Wednesday evening, the chief whip in Rajasthan assembly Mahesh Joshi wrote to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and accused the BJP of making offers to their MLAs and demanded a probe. In a letter to the DG, ACB Joshi wrote, “We have come to know through reliable sources that on the lines of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat; in Rajasthan our MLAs and those independents supporting us are being offered huge offers. This is an effort to destabilise a democratically elected government. It is not just a violation of democratic values and aspirations of the people; it is also unconstitutional, immoral and illegal.” Joshi demanded that these people be identified and legal action be taken against them.
Responding to the allegations state BJP chief Satish Poonia said, “These are baseless allegations and if they have such evidence then they should come out in the open with proof.”
How the numbers stand – In the 200 seat assembly of Rajasthan, Congress has 107 MLAs. It has the support of 1 RLD MLA and 13 independents. Three seats are coming up for election in Rajasthan. BJP can win only 1 unless it poaches into Congress votes. Both Congress and BJP have fielded two candidates each. If party sources are to be believed, the state leadership has assured the national leadership of BJP that they will ensure victory of both candidates. The three seats that have been vacated had been held by BJP.
