Over 50 Gehlot camp MLAs moved to Jaisalmer in chartered flights, others to follow

Jaisalmer/Jaipur/New Delhi, July 31

Over 50 Congress MLAs in the Ashok Gehlot fold, who were camping at a hotel on the Jaipur-Delhi Highway amid the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, were on Friday shifted to Jaisalmer in three chartered flights.

Transport Minister Pratap Singh said in Jaipur the MLAs are being shifted to Jaisalmer so that they remain united.

He said the chief minister’s strategy is that not a single MLA is poached.

The three chartered flights carrying the MLAs took off from here and landed at Jaisalmer, a distance of more than 550 km from Jaipur by road. The MLAs were taken to hotel Suryagarh in bus and other vehicles amid tight security.

“We are going to Jaisalmer for a change,” Congress MLA Prashant Bairwa said at the Jaipur airport.

The remaining MLAs in the Gehlot camp are also being moved to Jaisalmer.

The decision to move the MLAs came a day after Gehlot indicated he will seek a confidence vote when the assembly convenes on August 14 and claimed the money offered to the MLAs to switch sides had increased sharply ahead of the session. 

The chief minister said the rebels who have not accepted money should return to the party.

The MLAs have been staying at the Jaipur hotel since July 13 after Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress legislators rebelled against the government, triggering a political crisis.

Rajasthan Cong chief whip moves SC against HC order

Rajasthan Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi on Friday moved the Supreme Court against High Court order of July 24 asking the assembly speaker to defer disqualification proceeding against sacked deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs.

The chief whip has moved the top court two days after the assembly speaker CP Joshi filed the appeal against the July 24 Rajasthan High Court order.

The plea filed through advocate Varun Chopra said that the High Court order is “ex-facie unconstitutional, illegal and in the teeth of the law laid down by this court in 1992 verdict in the case of Kihoto Hollohon”.

The 1992 judgement had held that the speaker has the authority to decide the disqualification proceedings and judicial intervention in the process is “not permissible”. PTI

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