Twist in Rajasthan political crisis? Sacked PCC chief Sachin Pilot congratulates successor

In a new twist in the Rajasthan political crisis on Wednesday, Congress MLA Sachin Pilot extended his best wishes to Govind Singh Dotasra on assuming charge as the state Pradesh Congress Committee chief. Incidentally, the latter succeeded Pilot, 15 days ago when he was unceremoniously sacked as the Rajasthan Deputy CM and PCC chief. Pilot expressed hope that Dotasra would ensure due respect for all political workers responsible for the formation of the government without any pressure or prejudice.

Earlier in the day, the Congress leader also wished Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi on his birthday. Pilot's comments come at a juncture when the 19 MLA in his camp have posed a serious threat to CM Ashok Gehlot's leadership. 

Read: Rajasthan Govt Crisis LIVE Updates: Guv Returns CM's Proposal; Pilot Wishes New PCC Chief

Rajasthan Governor returns proposal

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra returned the state government's proposal to summon a special session of the Assembly for the third time in a row. On Tuesday, the Ashok Gehlot-led government had sent a revised proposal containing the response to the three queries posed by the Governor. According to Mishra, the state government insisted that he was not only bound to accept its recommendation but also had no right to know the reasons behind it.

At this juncture, the Governor highlighted that the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly rules mandated a 21-day notice to all the MLAs. Thereafter, he asked the Rajasthan government to furnish the reasons for demanding the Assembly session at such short notice. Mishra maintained that a floor test with social maintaining norms was a valid reason to summon the special Assembly session. At the same time, he opined that it would be appropriate to commence the Monsoon session of the Assembly with a notice of 21 days in the current circumstances.

Read: Pilot Camp's Bhanwar Lal Sharma Files Plea In HC, Seeks NIA Probe Into 'horse-trading'

Rift within Congress

Pilot’s departure to Delhi with some of his supporting legislators on July 11 set off alarm bells in the Congress camp. The rift between CM Ashok Gehlot and him widened after the legislators belonging to his camp skipped two Legislative Party meetings. On July 24, a division bench of the Rajasthan HC comprising Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta ordered a "status quo" on the Assembly Speaker's notices issued to sacked Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress MLAs. This implies that the Speaker cannot take any coercive action against the Pilot camp until the HC concludes hearing the matter. 

Read: 'What If President Refuses To Summon Parliament?': Ahmed Patel Slams Rajasthan Governor