Gehlot’s letter to PM Modi includes a reference to ‘people’s mandate

Rajasthan chief minister has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about alleged attempts to topple his government.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has escalated his offensive against the BJP by writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging involvement of union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a purported attempt to topple his government, according to PTI.

Ashok Gehlot has alleged involvement of senior BJP leaders including Gajendra Shekhawat in purported attempts to remove his government. (PTI Photo)

The Congress has named Shekhawat, a senior leader of the BJP from Rajasthan, on several occasions as one of the leading players in an alleged plot to dislodge Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan. The state special operation group (SOG) has even named Shekhawat in an FIR registered in the matter. Shekhawat, however, has denied his involvement.

Gehlot’s letter to the prime minister was written on Sunday in which he accused Shekhawat, other BJP leaders and some “over ambitious leaders” of his own party for being involved in the alleged “conspiracy”, according to PTI. The letter further states that the alleged attempts to bring down the Congress government is an insult to the people’s mandate and was an open violation of constitutional values, reports the news agency.

Gehlot is also said to have cited the examples of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, the two states lost by the Congress over the past year, primarily due to defections from the party.

Congress leaders had even produced three audio clips alleging Shekhawat could be heard on these clips discussing horse trading attempts to buy out MLAs in the state for the purpose of bringing down Gehlot’s government.

The Congress had initially stressed on the fact that the alleged conspiracy against the state government was hatched with the blessings of the party’s senior leadership in Delhi.

The Congress has been demanding that Shekhawat be removed from the Central cabinet and he submits himself to an ongoing probe to clear his name by giving his voice samples.

The BJP on the other hand has accused the Congress of distracting from its internal crisis precipitated by Congress leader Sachin Pilot’s rebellion against the party by blaming its political rival.

Sachin Pilot and 18 of his followers MLAs have rebelled against Gehlot’s leadership alleging the government had failed to fulfill the promise made in assembly polls. The Pilot camp has also alleged ill-treatment by the government citing a SOG notice to former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot asking him to join a probe in alleged horse trading case.

The Congress has alleged that Pilot and his followers are being actively backed by the BJP. Earlier today, the Congress party had accused the BJP leadership in Delhi of creating a ‘raid raj’ by misusing federal agencies to submit lawmakers to the cause of bringing down the Gehlot government in Rajasthan.

The comments came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the premises of Gehlot’s brother Agrasen Gehlot in connection with an investigation into money laundering charges in the fertiliser scam.