Express News Service
JAIPUR: Infighting in Rajasthan BJP has deepened. A group of party MLAs close to former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has written to state BJP Chief Satish Poonia, demanding equal opportunity to speak in the state Assembly.
In a letter, 20 MLAs have alleged partisanship and bias in allowing MLAs to raise issues of public interest in the state legislature.
These MLAs claimed that some are getting the opportunity to raise issues repeatedly, while some are not given a single chance. Seeking an end of this discrimination, they have demanded that Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria and Deputy Leader Rajendra Singh Rathore be directed to evolve a fair system wherein all BJP MLAs get equal opportunity.
Kailash Meghwal, a former Assembly speaker, is one of the MLAs to have signed this letter. Among the other 19 are former ministers Kalicharan Saraf, Pratap Singh Singhvi, Narpat Singh and Rampratap Kasania.
Though the letter makes no mention of Vasundhara Raje, most of these MLAs are close to the former chief minister.
In recent weeks, Raje loyalists have been targeting the state BJP unit on a variety of issues. While Assembly elections in Rajasthan are nearly three years away, Raje’s supporters have been lobbying for her to be the BJP’s CM face in future.
Last Sunday, they held a meeting in Kota, which was attended by several BJP MLAs who decided to press the party high command to name Raje as the CM candidate. These legislators have for long claimed that she was unfairly side-lined, which is a reason why BJP lost in the recent municipal elections.
Most sections of the state BJP unit are yet to react to the letter. Party spokesperson Ram Lal said: “Vasundhara Raje is acknowledged as a senior leader and is respected by all workers of the party. But the charge that she is being ignored is baseless.”