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Ex-CM Vasundhara Raje breaks silence on Rajasthan political crisis, targets Cong
The ex-CM has been ensconced at her personal residence in Dholpur and her silence since the political turmoil erupted had triggered all kinds of speculations.
Vasundhara Raje, former Rajasthan chief minister, on Saturday, broke her silence about the ongoing political turmoil regarding the fate of Ashok Gehlot-led government and said the people of the desert state were paying the price for discord within the ruling party’s ranks.
In a signed statement shared on Twitter, Raje said the names of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were being needlessly dragged into the controversy surrounding the ruling Congress’s factional feud and power struggle.
“It is unfortunate that the people of Rajasthan are paying for the discord within the Congress.....at a time when coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has claimed more than 500 lives and over 28,000 people have tested positive, when locusts are attacking farmers’ fields, when crime against women is at an all-time high, when there is a problem of electricity across the state,” she tweeted
“And I’m only naming a few of the problems being faced by our people. There is no point in trying to drag the BJP and the BJP leaders’ names through the mud,” she further tweeted.
“It is the interest of our people that must remain paramount. Think of the people,” the statement added.
Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma said the Gehlot government is working for all sections of society and providing good governance.
“Instead of making allegations, Raje should ask her party leaders to refrain from trying to pull down a democratically elected government,” she said.
The ex-CM has been ensconced at her personal residence in Dholpur and her silence since the political turmoil erupted had triggered all kinds of speculations.
Questions abounded, including from CM Gehlot, whether BJP in Rajasthan stood divided, as Raje neither defended her party nor attended any party meetings over the past few days since the political crisis unfolded.
Nagaur Member of Parliament (MP) Hanuman Beniwal of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), whose three lawmakers support the BJP in the Rajasthan assembly, has alleged that Raje has thrown her lot behind Congress legislators, who owe their allegiance to CM Gehlot.
In a series of tweets, Beniwal has alleged that Raje has been trying her best to save the minority government, headed by Gehlot, and has even called up some Congress members of the Rajasthan legislative assembly (MLAs), who are close to her, and has asked them to support the beleaguered CM.
However, BJP leaders have been at pains to put to rest any speculation of friction between Raje and the leader of opposition in the Rajasthan assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria.
They maintain that Kataria is in constant touch with Raje and she has expressed her willingness to come to Jaipur from Dholpur at any time.
Narayan Bareth, a political analyst, said Raje, a two-time CM, and longstanding MP and MLA, still remains one of BJP’s most charismatic leaders in Rajasthan.
“She still sees herself in the running for the CM’s post and would not want Pilot to join the BJP and emerge as a potential rival. She also commands the loyalty of around 40 BJP MLAs among the current strength of 72 in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly,” he said.
Raje is among the few BJP leaders who have stood up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah and attempts have been made to sideline her in Rajasthan politics and project a younger leadership in the form of state party president Satish Poonia or Jodhpur MP and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, said Bareth.
“But, she could still spring a surprise,” he added.
