Weighing on the ongoing power tussle in Rajasthan, the Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has asked for the imposition of President’s rule in the state and accused state government of indulging in illegal practices.
Shortly after the BJP sought a CBI probe in the allegations levelled by the Congress party that it has the audio tapes to prove that the BJP was conspiring to topple the Gehlot government in Rajasthan, Mayawati took to Twitter to blast at the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for flagrantly violating the anti-defection laws and betraying the BSP by inducting its MLAs into the Congress fold. Mayawati also alleged that Gehlot has committed illegal and unconstitutional acts by authorising the phone-tapping.
https://twitter.com/Mayawati/status/1284369316192780288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“Rajasthan Chief Minister first violated the anti-defection law and betrayed the BSP by admitting its MLAs into the Congress. He has also presided over the illegal and unconstitutional decision of commissioning the phone tapping,” Mayawati tweeted.
Amidst the political wrangling between the chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Gehlot, Mayawati said the Governor should recommend President rule in the state.
“The Governor of Rajasthan should take effective cognizance of the ongoing political deadlock, mutual disturbance and governmental instability and recommend imposition of President’s rule in the state so as to ward off threat to democracy,” said Mayawati in a subsequent tweet.
BJP demands CBI inquiry into phone tapping scandal
Earlier in the day, demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged phone tapping scandal, the BJP alleged if the Congress government in Rajasthan had resorted to “unconstitutional” means to tap the phones of politicians.
In a press conference on Saturday, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra lambasted the Congress party for making false allegations of horse-trading against the BJP and posed serious questions over the sensational phone tapping controversy. At the very onset, Patra said, “We are witnessing the political drama unfold in Rajasthan. It’s a mixture of conspiracy, fabrication, fraud and violation of law. The political game that is being played in the State is a mixture of all these ingredients.”
He continued, “The State government was constituted in 2018. After Ashok Gehlot was sworn in as the Chief Minister, a situation similar to that of Cold War ensued within the Congress party. Yesterday, Ashok Gehlot conceded to the media that there was a communication gap between the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister (Sachin Pilot).”