Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday, 11 June, said the Congress, along with MLAs from supporting parties and the Independents who are supporting them "are all united", a day after the party alleged attempts being made to destabilise the government in the state.
"We have more than the required number for the majority. Our Rajya Sabha candidates, Neeraj Dangi and KC Venugopal, will win," Pilot was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“Due to lockdown we couldn’t meet with our MLAs earlier. There is a restriction on the number of people gathering. That is why we brought everyone to the hotel so we could speak in open.”Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, as quoted by ANI
Earlier, state CM Ashok Gehlot had also said that his government is united, as he accused the BJP of horse-trading to destabilise the government.
“How long will you do politics by indulging in horse-trading? It will not be surprising if Congress gives them a jolt in the time to come. Public can understand everything. Today's meeting was very fruitful. Everyone is united, we will meet again tomorrow,” Gehlot had told the media after a meeting of party MLAs at a Jaipur resort on Wednesday.
“Election (Rajya Sabha) is here. It could have been conducted two months back but they had not completed the buying and selling in Gujarat and Rajasthan, so they delayed it. The election is going to be conducted now and the situation is the same,” he added.
The comments from Gehlot came after all the MLAs of the Congress party in Rajasthan and the independent MLAs supporting the government were summoned by the party high-command at a resort in Jaipur amid reports of the BJP trying to lure them to switch parties.
On Wednesday, Congress MLA and Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi had written to the Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau saying, “I have come to know through reliable sources that attempts are being made to lure our MLAs and Independent MLAs who support us, in order to destabilise the government”.
The development comes days before the Rajya Sabha elections, which will be held across various states on 19 June.
Earlier, the Gujarat Congress, hit by resignations of three of its MLAs ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, had shifted 22 MLAs to a resort at Abu Road in Rajasthan.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)