The state High Court will resume hearing on Monday after rival lawyers – Harish Salve for the Pilot camp and Abhishek Singhvi for the Congress – today slogged it out in the court. The counsel for the Speaker assured the court that no order shall be passed on the notice till 5.30 pm on Tuesday.

Salve questioned the constitutional validity of the disqualification notices Speaker CP Joshi issued to 19 rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law while Singhvi termed the case premature. The dissidents are saying that dissent against the CM is part of free speech and does not constitute defection, and also that the whip is valid only for proceedings in the Assembly, not at some hotel. The adjournment gives dissidents time to strategise even as the Rajasthan police today registered two cases on a Congress complaint accusing two of its MLAs and Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat of horse-trading and a conspiracy to dislodge the Ashok Gehlot-led state government.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala cited audio-taped conversations today to allege “horse-trading” by party MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who dismissed the charges. The Congress also suspended Sharma and Singh from its primary membership.
As the bitter factional war in the Rajasthan Congress played itself out on streets, strategists agreed that the legal outcome would determine the future course. All eyes are now on the court. If Pilot can ward off the disqualification threat, the Gehlot government would remain on tenterhooks faced with prospects of a trust vote. Gehlot claims he has the support of 102 MLAs in a House where 101 is the majority mark. The Congress said its doors for Pilot were still open.

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has rejected the Congress’ allegation based on some audio clips that he was part of a conspiracy to topple the Gehlot government. “This is not my voice…. Let there be an investigation,” the senior BJP leader told the media after the Congress demanded his arrest.

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The party also demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegations made by the Congress in Rajasthan it has audio tapes to prove that the BJP was in collusion with rebel Congress leaders to bring down the Gehlot government.

“Is phone tapping not a legal issue? Were the standard procedures laid down followed for phone tapping? The chief minister should answer if the state machinery was misused and if there is a veiled emergency in the state,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said during a press conference.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had briefed the media on Friday about the existence of tapes where BJP leaders including Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat can be heard conspiring with rebel MLAs from the Sachin Pilot camp to topple the state government.

Surjewala’s allegations were refuted by the BJP as well as Shekhawat, who asserted that the voice on the purported tapes was not his.

Patra alleged that there is a conspiracy within the Congress party and the blame is being pinned on the BJP.

“Our morality is crystal clear and we work as per the Constitution. Which is why we want a CBI probe,” Patra said.

“These are serious questions that we want to ask the Rajasthan Congress and Ashok Gehlot,” the BJP tweeted as well.

“1.Was phone taping done? The Congress govt in Rajasthan must answer. 2. Is it not a sensitive and legal issue, if phone taping has been done? 3. Assuming that you’ve taped phones, was the SOP followed? The people of Rajasthan want to know whether their privacy has been compromised. 4. Did the Congress govt in Rajasthan use unconstitutional ways to save themselves when they found themselves cornered? 5. Is phone of any person who is related to politics is being tapped?” it asked.

Rajasthan police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) on Friday registered two first information reports (FIRs) alleging a conspiracy to topple the Congress government in the state.

The FIRs came the party’s chief whip Mahesh Joshi lodged a complaint on Thursday night citing three audio tapes, purportedly of conversations detailing the plot.

Soon after the FIRs were registered — with several charges including “sedition” — the Congress demanded the arrest of Union water minister Shekhawat, rebel Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma, and alleged middleman Sanjay Jain.

The Congress also suspended Sharma and former tourism minister Vishvendra Singh from the party and sought an explanation.

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Elections were to be held for 18 Upper House across seven assemblies — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Gujarat — in the latest round of indirect elections for the 245-member council of states. Of the 55 seats that feel vacant, 37 members were elected unopposed.
The decision was taken at a meeting attended by election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

“The situation because of Covid-19 mandates that we shouldn’t put MLAs in a congregation. The decision has been taken independently by the commission and will be up for review once the situation improves,” said a senior EC official who asked not to be named.

“We have decided to defer the polls as the situation is not conducive for them,” a second senior EC official told Hindustan Times. “We will review the decision after March 31,” he added.

The first official said that this round of elections will be conducted separately from the next round of Rajya Sabha polls due in June. “The two will not be clubbed together,” he said.

In a press release issued by ECI, it said the decision was being taken in view of the health risks posed by Covid-19.

“Commission has reviewed in detail the matter. The prevailing unforeseen situation of public health emergency indicates the need for avoidance of possibilities of gatherings of any nature, which expose all concerned to possible health hazard,” the release said.

“The poll process in the above said elections would necessarily include the gathering of polling officials, agents of political parties, support officials and members of respective Legislative Assemblies on the poll day, which may not be suitable in view of the prevailing unforeseen situation and related advisories in the country,” it added.

The Commission has invoked Article 153 of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951, under which the commission “for reasons which it considers sufficient, may extend the time for the completion of any election by making necessary amendments”. In accordance with its provisions, EC has “deferred the poll and extended the period of said election under the provisions of Section 153 of the Act”.

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The Northern Zonal Council comprises of the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan, Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and Government of NCT of Delhi.  Chief Ministers from the member States in the Zone along with two Ministers each, Administrators of Union Territories, Chief Secretaries and senior officers from the State Governments and the Central Government will attend the meeting. 

The Council takes up issues involving Centre and States and one/many States falling in the Zone.The Zonal Councils thus give a forum for resolving disputes and irritants between Centre and States and among many States in the Zone.  The Zonal Councils discuss broad range of issues which include boundary related disputes, security, infrastructure related matters like road, transport, industries, water and power etc., matters of forests & environment, housing, education, food security, tourism, transport etc.

Five Zonal Councils were set up in the year 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Reorganization Act, 1956.  Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these five Zonal Councils and Chief Ministers of the host State (to be chosen by routine every year) is the Vice-Chairman.  Two more Ministers from each State are nominated as Members by the Governor.

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