Shiv Sena targets BJP over Rajasthan political crisis
The Shiv Sena on Tuesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government for destabilising governments of Opposition parties. In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena alleged that BJP engineered the collapse of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh and is now working to ensure that the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan also loses power.
“When the country is facing a Covid-19 crisis, the BJP is creating a different mess. During this period, the BJP demolished the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, and is now looking to demolish the Ashok Gehlot’s government in Rajasthan. However, it is not possible,” the editorial said.
Gehlot’s government is witnessing turbulent times after former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot launched an open rebellion against the CM. Pilot claimed that 30 legislators are supporting him and thus the Rajasthan government is in a minority now.
The editorial said that pro-Pilot legislators were present in the meeting with Gehlot on Monday, and that actual strength of the claims made by the rebel leader will only be known after a head count on the floor of the House. It said that the BJP will not make a move openly until the numbers are counted, though it continues to work from behind the curtains.
Launching an attack on its former ally, the Sena said such acts will turn the “parliamentary democracy into a desert”. It questioned what the BJP will achieve by conducting “the misadventure in the desert state.
“The BJP is ruling the entire country. It should leave some houses [states] for their opponents [to rule]. That will be the pride of democracy,” the editorial read.
The Sena also criticised the two Congress leaders.
“Pilot’s arrogance and malice are destabilising a state like Rajasthan, but this is not possible without the support of central power, which is working on a formula to destabilise the Opposition government. Pilot has an aspiration to become the Rajasthan CM. He is young and has a chance in the future, but due to Gehlot’s malice, he wants to win the CM’s post now. This step, however, may not prove beneficial to him. It is true that Pilot has worked hard for the party’s victory in the state. But when the party is in trouble, he should not run away like a mouse from a boat.”