Rajasthan Government crisis Live: Rajasthan government crisis LIVE updates: File photo of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with his former deputy Sachin Pilot.
Rajasthan Government crisis Live Updates: Rajasthan High Court today will resume hearing the petition filed by Sachin Pilot and his rebel camp, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state Assembly speaker. The process is likely to be drawn out even in the event of a ruling as the judgment would be challenged in the Supreme Court.
The rebels were served the disqualification notices after the Congress complained to the speaker that the lawmakers had defied the party whip to attend two Legislature Party meetings last week on Monday and Tuesday. The Pilot camp, however, argues that a party whip applies only when the Assembly is in session.
Meanwhile, sources told The Indian Express that Pilot is in touch with AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The two spoke over the phone in the weekend, sources said. The top leadership, including Priyanka, is open to meeting Pilot, they added. The BJP, however, believes that the crisis in the Rajasthan Congress has gone past the point of no-return.
Rajasthan government crisis LIVE updates: The Congress MLAs at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's residence last Monday. (File)
Sporting a Rajasthani saafa, with his right hand raised, the statue of former Union Minister Rajesh Pilot stands tall and is visible from a distance as one enters Dausa. Two decades ago, on June 11, 2000, he had died in a road accident a kilometre away from the spot.
Unable to forget the day, septuagenarian Shambhu Yogi, says most people in Dausa, which is less than 60 km from state capital Jaipur, continue to support the Pilot family. “Rajesh Pilot ji brought Dausa on the national map, he worked very hard for its development. On his death anniversary, Sachin Pilot and other politicians were here last month to pay their respects to him,” he says. Read More
In its complaint to the speaker, the Congress had sought action against Pilot and the other dissidents under paragraph 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. The provision disqualifies MLAs if they "voluntarily" give up the membership of the party that they represent in the House. Pilot was sacked as the Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the president of the state Congress unit after he rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
The hearing on a writ petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident Congress MLAs from Rajasthan, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state Assembly speaker, will resume in the high court here at 10 am. The petition was taken up a by a bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta on Friday and arguments were heard. The notices to the MLAs were served after the party complained to the speaker that the lawmakers had defied a whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings last week on Monday and Tuesday. The Pilot camp, however, argues that a party whip applies only when the Assembly is in session.
Hello and welcome to our Rajasthan Government Crisis LIVE blog. Rajasthan High Court today will resume hearing the petition filed by Sachin Pilot and his rebel camp, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state Assembly speaker. The hearing will start at 10 am. Follow all the latest updates here