The Congress-led Rajasthan government on Wednesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was trying to overthrow it like it toppled the governments in Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, ANI reported. The Congress claimed that the saffron party was trying to lure its MLAs with money.
In a letter to the chief of the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Chief Whip of Rajasthan Assembly Mahesh Joshi called for an investigation. “I have come to know through reliable sources that attempts are being made to lure our MLAs in order to destabilise our democratically elected government,” Joshi wrote in his letter in Hindi. “This is against all democratic principles and must be investigated.”
Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General Alok Tripathi told PTI that he had received the Congress leader’s complaint and that appropriate action will be taken.
The political turn of events in Rajasthan came ahead of elections to three Rajya Sabha seats in the state on June 19.
According to NDTV, senior Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and KC Venugopal are in the state to monitor the situation. “The BJP’s conspiracy in Rajasthan will not succeed,” Surjewala was quoted as saying by PTI. “The people of Rajasthan are brave and fearless. Our MLAs are not going to fall into any temptation and ridicule.”
The Congress took its MLAs to a luxury resort, where they attended a meeting called by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, according to the news agency.
The party has 107 MLAs in the 200-member state Assembly. Congress also has the support of 12 of the 13 independent MLAs in the state.
In March, the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh collapsed after 22 MLAs considered close to Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned. They later joined the BJP. Scindia had joined the saffron party on March 11 and was named the party’s Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh. On Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan purportedly said that the BJP’s central leadership had decided the fall of the Congress government in the state.
The Congress also lost Karnataka in July last year. The Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) government led by HD Kumaraswamy collapsed after 16 MLAs and two independents resigned.
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