People paying for discord in Cong: Vasundhara Raje

Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former chief minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje on Saturday alleged that some people were trying to create confusion on the political developments in the state and insisted that she stands with her party and its ideology.

Her remarks came in the backdrop of Nagaur MP and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party convener Hanuman Beniwal accusing her of having an "internal alliance" with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is facing a rebellion from his former deputy Sachin Pilot.

Raje, who had maintained a conspicuous silence till now on the political developments in the state, took to Twitter earlier in the day and said that it is unfortunate that the people of Rajasthan are paying for the discord within the Congress.

The Congress is trying to shift the blame on the BJP and the BJP leadership, Raje said.

The interest of the people must be paramount for the government, Raje said while asking the state's ruling Congress to think about the public.

"There is no point in trying to drag the BJP and the BJP leaders' names through the mud. It is the interest of our people that must remain paramount!" she said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Raje went on to list the many problems facing the people of Rajasthan.

"At a time when COVID-19 has claimed more than 500 lives and positive cases are close to 28,000, locusts are attacking farmers fields, crimes against women are at an all-time high, when there is a problem of electricity across the state, And I'm only naming a few of the problems faced by our people," she said.

"Think of the people!!!!!" she ended the statement in which she took no names.

Later in the evening, Raje posted another tweet in which she asserted that she stands by her party.

"Some people are constantly trying to spread confusion on Rajasthan's political developments without any facts. I have been serving people as a loyal worker of the party for the last three decades and stand with the party and its ideology," she said.

Raje's reaction came a week after the Gehlot-Pilot feud spilled into the open with the registration of an FIR by Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group in connection with a conspiracy to topple the state government.

The SOG had issued notices to Gehlot, Pilot and the government's chief whip Mahesh Joshi for recording their statements.

Subsequently, as Pilot staged a revolt, he was removed as deputy chief minister.

Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were also sacked from the Gehlot cabinet for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy.

Congress has accused the BJP of trying to topple the Gehlot government and has alleged that Pilot and 18 other MLAs are involved in the conspiracy. All the 19 have been served disqualification notice by the Assembly Speaker.

Further muddying the waters, Nagaur MP Beniwal, whose RLP is an NDA ally, accused Raje of helping Gehlot.

On Saturday, veteran Rajasthan BJP leader and former assembly speaker Kailash Chandra Meghwal, who is considered close to Raje, expressed his displeasure at alleged attempts to topple the Congress government when the state faces many challenges.

"Rajasthan politics has been derailed. It is unfortunate that attempts are being made to destabilise the government when the state faces the danger of COVID-19 pandemic and also unemployment among its poor. This is not appropriate. This is due to internal feud within the Congress," he said.

On Friday, the Congress suspended MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh from the party's primary membership.

The move came after two audio clips surfaced. The Congress alleged that Sharma was talking with Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Sanjay Jain regarding the conspiracy of toppling the state government in the clips.

The BJP has denied the allegations.

The SOG has also arrested Sanjay Jain in an FIR on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy and the Congress alleged that Jain is a BJP leader. But the BJP has rejected the claim saying Jain has no links with it.

The disqualification notices issued by the assembly speaker against 19 MLAs, including Pilot, have been challenged in the high court.