A group of dissident Congress MLAs supporting Sachin Pilot in the fight against Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot released short videos debunking the charge that they were held hostage by the BJP.
Underscoring that that his government has a complete majority of the Congress and its allies in the 200-member state assembly, Gehlot said, “Everyone is aware that a small section of our MLAs have been held captive in a hotel outside the state under the watch of bouncers and police of other states.”
Suresh Modi, an MLAs in the Sachin Pilot camp, said the statements made the CM do not fit his stature. The legislator found fault with the CM’s working style and accused him of not doing any work in his constituency.
“I want to make it clear, na hume bandhak bana ke rakha hai, na bouncer baithe hai, na bimaar hai, na aasu baha rahe hain, na wahan aane ke liye tadap rahe hain (We are not held hostage, nor are there bouncers, nor are we crying or ill, and nor are we dying to go back there),” said Suresh Modi in Hindi in a video message, stressing that he was staying away of his own free will.
The CM, however, maintains that he has learnt that the MLAs want to “break free of their captivity” and go along with the government.
{{/usCountry}}The CM, however, maintains that he has learnt that the MLAs want to “break free of their captivity” and go along with the government.
{{/usCountry}}“This will become evident in some time,” Gehlot said, when asked whether the Rajasthan Congress is in touch with MLAs in the Pilot camp.
Murali Meena, another MLA in the Pilot camp, reiterated that he and other rebels are still Congress members. He alleged that the CM’s working style forced him and others to take this step. “Galat aarop (wrong allegations)” are being levelled against us, said the legislator, adding “dukh hua (felt pain)”.
“We are staying in Delhi. CM Ashok Gehlot said we are held hostage by BJP, it’s untrue as we were never in touch with them. On the contrary, our families are scared due to use of SOG by the CM,” said Murali Meena.
The Rajasthan speaker had issued disqualification notices against the 19 dissident MLAs, who challenged it in the high court. On Friday, the court ordered status quo and said there will be no action for now on the disqualification notices against the dissident MLAs.
“Few people sitting in Jaipur are claiming that we are being held hostage. We came here on our own will. Infact, I got a pass made through the DM to reach here,” said Vedprakash Solanki, another MLAs in team Pilot.
Team Pilot has said that issuance of disqualification notice by the speaker is a violation of their freedom of speech right and merely disagreeing with the leader does not amount to defection.
The chief minister also reiterated his allegation that top BJP leaders were involved in the conspiracy to dislodge his government. Asked about the BJP’s claim that current developments in Rajasthan are a reflection of internal Congress factionalism, he said, “Can anyone say that the BJP does not have a hand in current developments in the state... Audio tapes in the public domain, raids on my close aides, hospitality offered to Congress MLAs by BJP-led Haryana government, prove BJP’s hand in this matter.”