'Don't drag BJP through mud': Vasundhara Raje asks CM Ashok Gehlot to not link party with Congress infighting

Jaipur: It is unfortunate that the people of Rajasthan are paying for the discord within the Congress, BJP national vice president and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje said on Saturday in her first reaction on the spiralling political crisis in the state.The Congress is trying to shift the blame on the BJP and the BJP leadership, Raje said as a question mark looms over the future of the Ashok Gehlot-led government following a bitter feud between the chief minister and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.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, who has been conspicuous by her silence on the current crisis, 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.Raje's reaction came days after the crisis began with the registration of an FIR by Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) on Friday last week in connection with a conspiracy to topple the state government.The SOG had issued notices to the chief minister, the deputy chief minister 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.Further muddying the waters, Nagaur MP and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party convener Hanuman Beniwal has also accused of Raje having an internal alliance with Gehlot. The RLP is an ally of the NDA.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 is talking with Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Sanjay Jain regarding the conspiracy of toppling the state government in the clips.

About Vishvenra Singh's alleged involvement, the party said some details may emerge soon.The SOG has also arrested Sanjay Jain in an FIR on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy Congress alleged that Jain is a BJP leader while BJP has rejected the claim saying Jain has no links with BJP.The disqualification notices issued by the assembly speaker against 19 MLAs, including Pilot, have been challenged in the high court.