Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje shows signs of rethink as stir against gag order intensifies

JAIPUR: There were signs on Monday evening that Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje was having a rethink on the ordinance on judges and public servants+ in the face of widespread criticism of the controversial order in political and legal circles.

Hours after two public interest litigations (PILs) and one writ petition were filed in the Rajasthan high court against the ordinance and uproarious scenes were witnessed in the state assembly on the first day of the session, Raje called four of her senior ministers and state BJP chief Ashok Parnami to the CM's house in the evening to discuss the order which critics have termed "draconian" and "ill fated".

Sources said apart from meeting the ministers, Raje also met senior bureaucrats in the evening and directed them to rework the ordinance so that apprehensions over the order in public and in media were addressed. Sources said cabinet ministers Rajendra Rathore, Gulabchand Kataria, Arun Chaturvedi and Yunus Khan attended the meet at the CM's house.

The government was left embarrassed as criticism poured in from all sides, including a few BJP MLAs who termed the bill a 'black law'