On Saturday, BJP leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje weighed in on the ongoing Rajasthan crisis, urging the Congress to keep the needs of the people of the state in mind.
While Raje had for the most part stayed out of the conflict thus far, the BJP leader on Saturday took to Twitter with a statement. Reminding that issues such as locust attacks and the COVID-19 outbreak continue to be a problem for the state, Raje urged the ruling party to "think of the people".
"There is no point trying to drag the BJP and the BJP leaders names through the mud! It is the interest of our people that must remain paramount!" she added.
The Sachin Pilot-Ashok Gehlot debacle in Rajasthan continues with new updates coming in several times a day. In the span of a week, we've seen the state's Deputy Chief Minister sacked, and a faction of Congress leaders firmly against Gehlot, who in turn has alleged that the BJP is involved in attempted horse-trading. At the same time, Sachin Pilot and 18 other MLAs have approached the Rajasthan High Court challenging the disqualification notice issued to them by the Assembly Speaker.
Amid this came counter allegations from former BSP MLA Ramesh Meena who was recently removed as a Rajasthan Minister. The Minister who had joined Congress soon after the polls said that Gehlot should answer, "how much did he give us" when he and a few other MLAs had been with the BSP and then joined the Congress. This naturally prompted BSP chief Mayawati to slam the government, and call for Governor's Rule in the state.
On Friday, there emerged a new twist to the unfolding saga with the Congress demanding the arrest of BJP leader and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and rebel Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma after two audio clips surfaced pertaining to the alleged conspiracy to topple the Gehlot government.
It is against this backdrop that Raje on Saturday opted to criticise the Congress. "It is unfortunate that people of Rajasthan are suffering because of Congress infighting," she had noted.
(with inputs from agencies)
