Congress accuses BJP of 'horse-trading', suspends two rebel MLAs

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala announced that the party has suspended rebel MLAs Bhanwar Lal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh, and has also sought an explanation from Sachin Pilot over the alleged 'horse-trading' clips.

Jaipur (Rajasthan):A day after it released audio clips of alleged 'horse-trading' talks, the Congress on Friday suspended its MLAs Bhanwar Lal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh, and also sought an explanation from Sachin Pilot on the allegations.

The party also accused Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of being involved in 'conspiracy' to topple the Rajasthan government.

Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that in the clips, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, BJP leader Sanjay Jain, and Congress MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma were purportedly heard speaking about bribing MLAs and bringing down the Ashok Gehlot government.

The five demands put forth by Randeep Surjewala during the presser

"We demand Rajasthan Government and Special Operations Group (SOG) to register FIR and arrest the culprits as plenty of evidence has surfaced now," Surjewala said.

"I demand that an FIR is registered by the SOG against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and a probe is initiated into the tape. If it is suspected that he could influence the probe, then a warrant should be issued and he should be arrested immediately," he added.

Read:Cong shares clips of alleged 'horse-trading' talks between BJP, rebels

Further, Surjewala informed that the party has suspended rebel MLAs Bhanwar Lal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh from primary membership of the party and has also issued show cause notices to them.

Seeking an explanation from Sachin Pilot, Surjewala said the sacked deputy Chief Minister should come forward and make his stand public on the allegations of providing the MLAs' list to BJP.

Earlier yesterday, the Congress released three audio clips purporting to be of "horse-trading" discussions.

A press note was also issued by the Gehlot camp, claiming that Shekhawat was in contact with the Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma through Jaipur resident Sanjay Jain.

Read:'Bhanwar Lal Sharma conspiring to topple government'; MLA refutes CM Gehlot camp's claim

The press note said that the audio is of Sharma's updates on the progress in meeting the set target of bringing in 30 MLAs into their fold and the purported voice of Shekhawat, on the other side, says that this will bring in the Gehlot government on its knees.

The Congress today also demanded that Sharma and Jain be booked. "We also demand that Congress MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma and BJP leader Sanjay Jain should also be booked. It should also be probed as to who arranged the 'black money' to bribe MLAs and who were given the bribe," Surjewala said.

(With inputs from agencies)