The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday mocked the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party as the political crisis in Rajasthan intensified.
The party posted a sketch of the Congress’s hand symbol transforming into BJP’s lotus, in an apparent swipe at the saffron party’s alleged attempts to topple the Ashok Gehlot-led government in the state like it ousted the governments in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
The AAP tweeted the illustration in response to Gehlot’s comment that the BJP was “running the show” in state and nothing was in his former deputy Sachin Pilot’s hands.
Pilot’s rebellion against the Congress in Rajasthan has brought the Gehlot administration to the brink of a collapse. Earlier on Tuesday, Pilot was removed as the deputy chief minister of Rajasthan and from his position as the Congress’ state unit chief. The action against Pilot came after he did not attend the second round of meetings convened by the Congress to discuss the political crisis. Several Congress leaders had reached out to Pilot since Sunday in an attempt to resolve his feud with Gehlot.
The power struggle between Gehlot and Pilot had been going on for quite some time, but the latest crisis was triggered after Pilot was summoned by the Rajasthan Anti-Terror Squad and the Special Operations Group last week. The SOG had sought time from Pilot to record his statement in a case of conspiracy and sedition registered after attempts were allegedly made by the BJP to bribe Congress MLAs to switch sides during last month’s Rajya Sabha elections. However, Gehlot had pointed out that the notice was misinterpreted, adding that a similar notice was sent to him as well.
The Congress accused the BJP of attempting to destabilise the Rajasthan government by bribing its MLAs, and said such efforts would not be fruitful as the Gehlot administration will complete its term.
There has been some speculation that Pilot is in talks with the BJP in Delhi and may stage a walkout like Jyotiraditya Scindia in Madhya Pradesh to topple the Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan. Pilot has denied these claims. On Tuesday, however, he took to Twitter to send out a message to the Congress. “The Truth can be disturbed, not defeated,” he wrote.
The Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh collapsed in March after 22 MLAs, considered close to former party leader Scindia, resigned. They later joined the BJP. Scindia joined the saffron party on March 11 and was named the BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh.
While Pilot claims he has 30 MLAs on his side, the Congress says the number is no more than 16. On Monday, Pilot insisted that Gehlot’s claim of having 106 legislators on his side is a gross exaggeration. However, the Rajasthan Congress Legislature Party on Monday passed a resolution seeking action against rebel MLAs and supported Gehlot.
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