Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Express Photo by Partha Paul.
Rajasthan Government crisis Live Updates: Vasundhara Raje Scindia, former Rajasthan CM and tallest BJP leader in the state on Saturday expressed her views on the ongoing government crisis in Rajasthan and said “it is unfortunate that the people of Rajasthan are paying for the discord within the Congress.” In her first response ever since the crisis began, Raje tweeted: “There is no pint dragging the BJP and the its leaders names through the mud. It is the interest of our people that must remain paramount.”
The political row between the Congress and the BJP over the audio tapes, in which Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma are allegedly heard plotting to topple the Ashok Gehlot government, continued on Saturday with the saffron party demanding a CBI probe. “Did the Rajasthan government use unconstitutional ways to save themselves when they found themselves cornered? Is the phone of any person who is related to politics is being tapped?” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.
The Congress responded to the above claims by saying that the saffron party has finally admitted to its role in the “murder of democracy”. “The BJP has now admitted to its role in the murder of democracy in Rajasthan. Their only grievance was that when we were murdering, why were we getting recorded and if we were getting recorded was it legal,” party spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan High Court has extended till Tuesday evening the deadline set by Speaker C P Joshi to the 19 rebel state Congress MLAs to respond to his showcause notices.
Rajasthan Government crisis Live: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with his deputy Sachin Pilot. (PTI/File)
Vasundhara Raje Scindia, former Rajasthan CM and tallest BJP leader in the state on Saturday expressed her views on the ongoing Rajasthan government crisis and said "it is unfortunate that the people of Rajasthan are paying for the discord within the Congress."
While two audio clips have formed the basis for separate FIRs by the Special Operations Group of Rajasthan Police for an alleged conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government, a third audio clip, released by the ruling Congress on Thursday evening, has two people talking purportedly about an “amount”, and also mentioning names of Congress MLAs. This clip is not mentioned in the FIRs. The clip has one person purportedly asking, “The talk of amount has been done?”. To this, the other answers in the affirmative. The conversation takes place in Hindi and Rajasthani. The audio clip was sent to reporters by Lokesh Sharma, OSD to the Rajasthan Chief Minister, on Thursday evening. The Indian Express cannot independently verify authenticity of the audio clip.
Taking to Twitter, Congress said: "An independent investigation must begin into BJP's nefarious activities in Rajasthan. Who is providing all this black money & where did it come from?"
Congress leader Pawan Khera addressed the media today. You can listen here.
Rebel Congress MLA Vishvendra Singh today hit out at CM Gehlot for mocking his former deputy Sachin Pilot earlier. He said: "Even Rajiv Gandhi was handsome and could speak English very well," he tweeted.
"I challenge the BJP to free the 19 MLAs, they will return to the Congress. The MLAs know that if people see them as 'sell-outs', they will not be able to face the public," Raghu Sharma, Rajasthan Minister and Congress leader, was quoted as saying by ANI.
“What is the reason that Sachin Pilot trusts the Haryana police more than the Rajasthan police? We want to know. On the one hand, celebrated lawyers close to the BJP are trying to prove in the court of law in Rajasthan that Pilot and all the MLAs are part of the Congress party and on the other hand, these MLAs take protection from Haryana police and under that protection, try and escape from the hotel when the Rajasthan police team reaches to take the voice samples. If you are part of the Congress, why are you in the custody of a BJP-ruled state? We are told attempts are being made to take them to another BJP-ruled state of Karnataka,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
Taking to Twitter, BSP leader Mayawati said: "It is clear that the Rajasthan CM is violating the law. They first roped in the Bahujan Samajwadi Party MLAs. Now, they have again violated the law by illegally tapping phones. The President's rule should be imposed in the state."
For the first time in the history, the Haryana police blocked the SOG from collecting the voice samples and made sure the MLAs escaped. The BJP used the Khattar government in Haryana to thwart the probe. Does Sachin Pilot trust Haryana cops more than Rajasthan Police? These MLAs belong to the Congress but they are taking protection from Haryana Police. All the MLAs against whom there was no FIR also tried to escape from the hotel. This makes it amply clear that it is a BJP operation. They are not denying it anyway. Their only grievance is why were their phones tapped."
Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said: "We all witnessed, over the last 10 days, the daylight murder of democracy being attempted by BJP. Every day, a new layer comes out exposing the links of the BJP in trying to create some crisis in Rajasthan. BJP's claims today is like watching me murder someone and then complain to the cops. Isn't he intruding upon my space to see me committing the crime?"
“Our morality is clear… No fictional stories can shake us,” BJP's Patra today said, adding that the Rajasthan Chief Minister should answer the questions asked by the saffron party. The BJP leader added that “the reality is that since the Congress came into power, there has been a dual on the street between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot on who would be the Chief Minister.” He pointed out citing Gehlot’s remarks that the chief minister and deputy chief minister had not been in talking terms for the last 18 months. “The sin was theirs… the conspiracy existed within the Congress, but the allegations were against the BJP. They came out with audio clips, which were manufactured, to accuse the BJP of conspiracies,” Patra said. Click here to read more.
Taking to Twitter late on Friday night, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the BJP has been indulging in horse-trading activities for the past two months.
As political events unfold at a rapid pace in Jaipur, the main figure in Opposition BJP has been keeping a calculated distance. Unlike in neighboring Madhya Pradesh, where a similar political drama led to BJP replacing the Congress government and the party had Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and senior leaders in the loop for negotiations, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, former Rajasthan CM and tallest BJP leader in the state, has been missing in action in the developments in Jaipur. A source close to Raje said she did not want to be part of the developments since the party leadership “did not keep her informed about the events, nor did they have any discussions with her”. According to the source, she did not want to take “credit” for disrupting the government, as she “would not like to take the blame if it does not see positive results”.
Patra continued: "These are serious questions that we want to ask the Rajasthan Congress and Ashok Gehlot. 1. Was phone taping done? The Congress govt in Rajasthan must answer. 2. Is it not a sensitive and legal issue, if phone taping has been done? 4. Did the Congress govt in Rajasthan use unconstitutional ways to save themselves when they found themselves cornered? 5. Is phone of any person who is related to politics is being tapped?" He added: "Phone tapping can only be done by authorized agencies as per due process of law and subject to approve safe-guards and SOPs. Each case is also reviewed by a committee chaired by a Cabinet Secretary in case of Central and State Secretary in case of a state government."
Addressing the media on the alleged audio tapes recovered by the Congress, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said: "They are putting the blame on us. But we blame them. You (Congress) have put the people in the dark. Our morality is crystal clear. We work in accordinance with the law and no manufactured stories can shake our foundation. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is busy playing around with videos. This is playing with the privacy of the people. We demand a CBI probe into the case."
BJP's Laxmikant Bhardwaj on Friday filed a complaint against Congress leaders Mahesh Joshi, Randeep Surjewala, among others, at Ashok Nagar Police Station in Delhi, over the "manufactured audio clip" and false statements by the party.
On the drama at Manesar hotel, a senior police officer said, “The police deployment is routine. It is done whenever a politically charged atmosphere builds up. It was done to protect the hotel property and prevent disturbance.” A top official in Haryana government said, “Privacy of guests is a top priority of any hotel. SOG was told that there was nobody inside whom they want to question, but they insisted they would like to search the resort’s rooms. That was not allowed since they did not have search warrants.”
Policemen keep vigil outside the hotel in Manesar, Haryana, on Friday.
There was high drama at a hotel in Manesar on Friday as a team of Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police arrived to collect voice samples of some dissident Congress MLAs. They reached around 6.15 pm to find Haryana Police personnel denying them entry. After much discussion, they were finally allowed into the premises at 7.45 pm. Haryana Police personnel were deployed outside the ITC Grand Bharat since morning. When the SOG arrived, the five-member team was first denied entry by hotel staff and some policemen at the spot. Haryana Police Inspector Jitender Kumar then arrived and told the SOG team to park their vehicle on one side. He also sought their documentation on the case. As additional forces arrived, discussions between police officials from both states continued for over an hour. A police officer present outside the hotel told The Indian Express, “They were allowed inside around 7.45 pm after their documents were checked and due permission was granted. They left an hour later.”
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday said that the state government is investigating allegations made by state Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant, accusing the BJP of raising money from businessmen in Mumbai to fund a conspiracy to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan. “There seems to be truth in these claims. We are collecting inputs about how much money was sent and how it was transferred to Rajasthan. Once we gather complete information, we will decide on the next course of action,” Deshmukh told The Indian Express. Sawant on Friday accused the BJP of raising money from businessmen in Mumbai to fund the conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government.