JAIPUR: Rajasthan BJP President Satish Poonia on Tuesday said the party is not demanding floor test in the state assembly as of now.
Asked about floor test Poonia told ANI, "At present, we are not demanding anything as of now. Our priority was that it is a corrupt government and it did mismanagement in the coronavirus crisis. It has become a weak government. First thing is that this government should go away in the interest of the people of the state."
"This government's foundation is weak. Congress has been claiming that their leaders are united but it's clear that there are internal disputes, because of which, Sachin Pilot had to part from Congress after facing humiliation. When such a thing happens then the government is not able to fulfil the expectations of the people of the state. And then eventually it falls," he said.
"It is the tradition of Congress and this was the reason that Jyotiaditya Scindia who was in Congress for so many years and had to leave it to join the BJP. The same situation was with Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan where he kept the organisation working and when it came to transfer him power then he was neglected and disrespected," he added.
Meanwhile, the demand for a floor test by the members of the Sachin Pilot camp has gained momentum, with state Food and Civil Supply Minister Ramesh Meena saying this will make it clear how many MLAs are with the Ashok Gehlot government.
Meena, a Pilot loyalist, is among the Congress legislators who skipped both the Congress legislature party meetings on Monday and Tuesday.
"Floor test should be conducted in the assembly. This will expose the claim that the Ashok Gehlot government has the support of 109 MLAs," Meena said on Tuesday.
He, however, refused to say anything further.
Congress MLA Deependra Singh Shekhawat too had raised the same demanded on Monday.
"We want a floor test at the earliest, which will make the situation crystal clear. We are with the Congress and Congress (state) president Sachin Pilot," Singh had told reporters yesterday.
The Ashok Gehlot camp has claimed that 109 MLAs, both of Congress and others, are in support of the government.
Another Congress MLA Murari Lal Meena, who is close to Sachin Pilot, alleged that Chief Minister Gehlot neglected party leaders and workers who worked hard for five years.
In a tweet, he claimed that the communities in eastern Rajasthan which cast votes in favour of the Congress were being neglected and promises made in elections not fulfilled.
Improvement is necessary to saving the Congress.
Otherwise the party will get only 11 seats in 2023 (assembly elections), Meena said.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey on Tuesday said his party is giving another chance to Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot to attend the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, which is scheduled to be held today.
"We are giving a second chance to Sachin Pilot, asked him to attend today's CLP meet. I hope today all MLAs come and give solidarity to leadership and for which people of Rajasthan voted, we all want to work for the development of the state," he said while speaking to ANI in Jaipur.
Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ahmed Patel, P Chidambaram and KC Venugopal have spoken to Sachin Pilot several times. However, sources stated that there is very less possibility of Pilot attending the Congress Legislature Party meet today.Twenty MLAs, including Pilot, did not attend the CLP meeting held at the residence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday amid the political crisis in the state, according to sources.
Apart from Pilot, Ved Solanki, Rakesh Parik, Murari Lal Meena, JR Khatana, Indraj Gurjar, Gajendra Singh Shaktavat, Hareesh Meena, Deependra Singh Shekhawat, Bhanwar Lal Sharma, Gajraj Khatana, Vijedra Ola, Hemaram Choudhary, PR Meena, Ramesh Meena, Vishvendra Singh, Mukesh Bhakar, Suresh Modi, Virendra Choudhary and Amar Singh Jatav were not present at the meeting.
The crisis in Rajasthan Congress has intensified over the past few days with the differences between Gehlot and Pilot coming out in the open.
Gehlot has accused the BJP of trying to destabilise the state government by trying to poach MLAs. Sachin Pilot is learnt to be in Delhi.