BJP again trying to destabilise my govt: Gehlot

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot's allegation comes within months of the state government surviving a major jolt after the then deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot revolted against Gehlot.

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has once again expressed apprehension that his government is being destabilised by the BJP, the charge rejected by the opposition party.

The allegation has been levelled within months of the state government surviving a major jolt after the then Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot revolted against Gehlot.

The political experts, however, believe that it could be due to his government's failure to perform well.

In July last, a feud between Gehlot and Pilot came out in the open after the latter along with 18 other MLAs revolted against the chief minister's leadership which led to a political crisis for nearly a month.

Pilot and two ministers in his camp were dropped from the Gehlot cabinet on 14 July.

During the crisis, the MLAs of Gehlot camp were lodged in a hotel in Jaipur and later shifted to Jaisalmer. The matter was resolved when Pilot and other MLAs met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the national capital and a committee of three members was set up by the Congress to look into their grievances.

Addressing a virtual function to inaugurate a party office in Sirohi's Shivganj on Saturday, Gehlot alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah in presence of Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Zafar Islam, BJP's Rajya Sabha member, had at that time met Congress MLAs and assured them of toppling the government while asking them to keep patience.

This is how the entire game was played. Randeep Surjewala, Ajay Maken, Avinash Paden, Venugopal, all came and sat here and took decisions to terminate our people and leaders. Only after this, the government could be saved. BJP is doing this conspiracy everywhere, he said.

Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra also claimed that the BJP's renewed attempts to topple the Ashok Gehlot government did not succeed as "our MLAs persisted" and refused to give in to allurement and pressure.

The BJP has hit back, saying Gehlot has failed to run the government and is frustrated and making unreasonable allegations.

Meanwhile, it's believed that "all is not well" within the Congress in Rajasthan as nothing has been done to accommodate the concerns of the rebel MLAs who had returned to the party fold after assurances from the party high command.

The Congres is divided into two sections - Gehlot and Pilot and it's believed to the fight of capturing the chief ministership.

Also, the state government is going to complete its two years in office on December 17 and there has been no extension of the state cabinet. MLAs who supported Gehlot all through the crisis some four months ago are also hopeful of getting cabinet birth. At least nine ministers could be inducted in the state cabinet as some were expelled and one Bhanwarlal Meghwal had died.

One of the reasons for the delay in the state cabinet expansion is that the chief minister does not want to include the rebel MLAs again in the cabinet.

Experts also believe that Gehlot is attempting to kill two birds with one stone wherein while one is a direct attack on the BJP, the other is a veiled attack to clip the wings of Pilot.

Congress wants Gehlot to continue leading the government in the sate.

Gulab Chand Kataria of BJP has said that Gehlot government, would fall as the Chief minister tries to expend his cabinet because he has too many leaders to accommodate.