The controversy is deepening on the issue of mass resignations of 81 Congress and Independent MLAs in support of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on September 25 last year.
After taking the matter to the High Court, now the BJP has given notice of breach of privilege in the Assembly against three ministers, two Congress MLAs and one independent accusing them of pressurising the other 75 MLAs to give resignations terming it a direct violation of the privilege of an MLA.
The notice is based on the detailed affidavit submitted by the assembly in the High Court stating that the MLAs individually in person urged (Speaker CP Joshi) to withdraw the resignations by clearly mentioning that the resignations tendered by them were not voluntary.
Ministers who received the notice of breach
The notice of breach of privilege has been given against the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal, chief whip of the party and minister of PHED Mahesh Joshi, Revenue minister Ramlal Jat, deputy chief whip Mahendra Choudhary, Congress MLA Rafiq Khan and independent Sanyam Lodha who is an adviser to CM Gehlot.
These six leaders handed over the resignations of 81 MLAs including themselves to the Speaker of Rajasthan Assembly CP Joshi on September 25th last year.
Now the Speaker is to decide on the notices given by the BJP MLAs who raise the issue in the assembly on which the Speaker said that the assembly secretariat has received the notices and it will be examined in due course.
Congress leaders pressurised MLAs to resign
BJP MLAs Ramlal Sharma and Ashok Lahoti, who gave the notices, said that these 6 Congress MLAs had pressurised other MLAs to resign. ‘Even in its reply to the High Court, the assembly has accepted that the Congress MLAs had not given their resignations voluntarily,’ said both the leaders.
Responding to the notices of BJP, state Congress President Govind Singh Dotasara and Deputy Chief Whip Mahendra Chaudhary said "as the Speaker has rejected the resignations, the issue has no relevance now. It is the BJP that has lowered the dignity of the house by taking this matter to the High Court."
It is to mention here that a breach of privilege motion which was moved by independent MLA Sanyam Lodha against deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore who had filed the PIL in the High Court in the matter of mass resignations of Congress MLAs, is already pending in the assembly. The Speaker CP Joshi had allowed Lodha to move the motion. Now, this move of Bjp is being taken as the reaction to Lodha’s motion.
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