India

RAJASTHAN CRISIS FURTHER PRECIPITATES. ONE TO ONE WAR MAY FURTHER VITIATE THE SITUATION to no return

The Rajasthan’s political crisis between the 69 year old three time CM and forty year old former MP, union minister, deputy CM n state president Sachin Pilot seems to have precipitated further after the latter going to the court to challenge the incumbent CM n the assembly against initiating unconstitutional steps by issuing the Congress rebel MLAs including him the arbitrary notices threatening to disqualify their memberships.

The case have been filed in the Jaipur court and the hearing is slated for today. The former senior advocates of the BJP namely Mukul Rohtagi and Harish Salve are fighting Pilot’s case while the senior advocate of Supreme court n Congress leader Abishekh Manu Singhvi is representing the CM Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot n his government.

Today is the last day for rebel former deputy CM n his loyal 18 MLAs to respond to the notices of the Rajasthan speaker n Assembly satisfactorily in order to save their disqualification and as such the judiciary may give the decision today itself.

MEANWHILE there are indications that the Rajasthan CM is likely to address the media at the Fairmont hotel where over 100 lawmakers supporting him are holed up.

According to some media reports probably the CM may expose the rebel leader and his lawmakers of hobnobbing with the BJP with some evidences like tape recorder interactions etc to topple his government thus disqualifying themselves of the membership as per the norms of the anti defection law, whereas Sachin Pilot camp has outrightly refuted these charges saying that not only are they concocted, baseless n biased, the Assembly session not being in session cannot issue any such notice n challenge the rebel MLAs’ disqualification. However till now the condition of the chief minister n his government is quite comfortable as per his claims of having the support of 106 MLAs and incase the membership of the eighteen rebel lawmakers including that of Sachin Pilot is ( are) disqualified the numbers of total MLAs in Assembly i.e. 200 will reduce/ shrink to 181 giving confirmed victory to Ashok Gehlot with quite a comfortable majority.

However, if the rebels acknowledge court’s decision favouring them they can pose challenge to Gehlot’s leadership but after the issuance of the whip in the assembly if voting takes place in future, it remains to be seen what shape the law/ anti defection law takes if the rebels vote against the government or absent themselves in the house giving credence to the rival BJP.

Sources reveal that may be the rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot n his 18 MLAs have deliberately gone to the court to allegedly buy time as a political n legal strategy to enable manipulating the lawmakers of Gehlot on his side to enhance his strength or giving the rival BJP opportunity to show its feats of manipulating Congress MLAs come to its side via horse trading.

However, these are all mere assumptions. The chief minister Ashok Gehlot n the Congress leaders had already accused the BJP for allegedly trying to encourage horse trading in Rajasthan using lots of money in connivance with rebel leader Sachin Pilot, the charges strongly opposed by the BJP leaders n Sachin Pilot as well, condemning Ashok Gehlot, saying that not only is he still in Congress but has also unambiguously announced about never joining the BJP despite various biased n fabricated, untrue charges being levied against me n my friend lawmakers by the CM Ashok Gehlot.

Meanwhile the Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are still trying to exercise their last efforts to ensure that he n his entire group of 18 MLAs could be managed to come in line within the party descipline by acceding to their all demands but within desciplined parameters.

Keeping in view the increasing differences between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot with both of them issuing highly surcharged derogatory statements against each other further being twisted by media, to one gathers an impression that this conflict will have wider repurcussions for sure in future with the central leadership finding itself in a non resolving situation of the impasse.

The way Sachin Pilot n Ashok Gehlot had been at cross roads showing no sign of reapproachment is a clear indication that the Sonia Gandhi, Rahul n Priyanka trio has not used their offices effectively to either talk to both of them sternly giving instructions to resolve the impasse or have given unambiguous power to senior leader Gehlot to use his discretion n compel the junior Pilot to bite the dust.

Had the leadership of the Congress been really willing it could have summoned both the warring leaders to Delhi n sort the crisis there and then.

But sources say that after the bad example of Madhya Pradesh losing the efficient hard core Congress young leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and the government as well, the Congress high command is no more interested to lose its another state after MP. It is because of this compulsion that the party’s central leadership is moving ahead very sensitively thinking to deal with the crisis amicably by keeping both the warring leaders in good humour and deciding their own course themselves, to finally intervene when the real n relevant time arrives to hit the hot iron. Fingers crossed till then. What’s your take friends?

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Sunil Negi

Sunil Negi is a senior journalist and president of Uttarakhand Journalists Forum ( Regd). He usually writes on socio political subjects and have been contributing articles in print media for the last several years. Mr. Sunil Negi had been felicitated by All India Achievers conference's Pride of India and excellence awards apart from several other recognitions. He has translated a book on ecological disaster of Uttarakhand of June 2013 and edited and published two editions of Uttaranchal's Who's Who.

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