Rajasthan political crisis LIVE Updates
In a show of strength, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot-led Rajasthan Congress camp on Monday released a video showing at least 16 MLAs sitting together. This comes hours after the Congress held a legislature party meeting. Party leaders said 106 of 122 MLAs attended, a claim contested by the Pilot camp. The 10-second video was shared late at night on Pilot's official WhatsApp group. In the video, at least 16 MLAs are seen sitting together in a close circle. Pilot is not seen in the video.
Six other people can be seen in the video but they could not be identified. Some of the MLAs seen in the video are Indraraj Gurjar, Mukesh Bhakar, Harish Meena.
Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh tweeted the video with the caption "Family".
Meanwhile, a second legislature party meet is scheduled to be held today (Tuesday). Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, who is reportedly not going to be a part of the meet, will be served a show-cause notice if he skips the meeting.
Congress MLAs were holed up at a resort near Jaipur as the top leadership tried to woo back dissidents led by Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. Former party president Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are among the senior leaders who have been in touch with Pilot, sources said. The second meeting of the Congress Legislature Party was announced several hours after the first one ended Monday afternoon, skipped by Pilot and 18 other party MLAs, according to one party source.
The Congress had issued a whip, asking all 107 Congress MLAs to be present at Monday’s meeting at the chief minister’s home. In addition, 15 others – independents and from allies -- were invited.
Party leaders said 106 of these 122 MLAs attended, a claim contested by the Pilot camp.
The meeting expressed support for the Gehlot government, adopting a resolution urging “strong disciplinary action” against any party office-bearer or CLP member who does anything to weaken the government or the party.
But it stopped short of naming Pilot, who also heads the party’s state unit.
Before the meeting, AICC spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also adopted conciliatory tone, saying Pilot and other MLAs could still attend it.
“Doors are open for Sachin Pilot and other MLAs. They will be heard and solutions found. This is the discipline of the party,” he said.
Apart from Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, former Union finance minister P Chidambaram and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal are learned to have spoken with Pilot.
As the CLP meeting ended, MLAs sat in waiting buses which took them to Fairmont hotel on the outskirts of Jaipur.
Hours later, Surjewala announced the CLP will meet again at 10 am on Tuesday at the hotel, a move seen as another attempt by the party to get the dissidents back into the fold.
BTP asks MLAs to be neutral, neither support Gehlot nor Pilot
The Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP), which has two MLAs in the Rajasthan assembly, has asked its legislators to remain neutral and not align either with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot or his deputy Sachin Pilot.
The development comes hours after a Congress legislature party meeting, where Congress MLAs expressed support for Gehlot and only indirectly referred to Pilot, whose rebellion threatens his government.
The BTP has also asked its MLAs neither to align with the Congress nor the BJP during the ongoing political crisis in the state.
The Gehlot camp has considered BTP MLAs as supporters of the government. One of the BTP's MLAs has maintained that the support to the government will continue.
BTP president Maheshbhai Vasava issued a whip to both the MLAs directing them not to vote for the Congress or the BJP or in support of Gehlot or Pilot in case a floor test is held in the assembly.
Disciplinary action will be taken if the MLAs ignore the whip, BTP state in-charge Rameshbhai Vasava said.