File photo of Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje
The Rajasthan Congress today submitted a memorandum to the governor seeking removal of Vasundhara Raje as the chief minister over the Lalit Modi controversy.
"We submitted a memorandum to Governor Kalyan Singh and requested him to sack Ms Raje. The governor is the appointing authority according to the Constitution. So he also has the powers to remove or dismiss a chief minister," state Congress president Sachin Pilot told IANS.
Mr Pilot led a delegation of 20 senior Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi, to the governor.
"The Congress earlier asked the chief minister to resign from her post, but she did not do it. So we approached the governor," he said.
The Congress has been demanding Vasundhara Raje's resignation for allegedly testifying in favor of former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi for his British immigration application in 2011.
"What the chief minister, when she was Leader of the Opposition, has done is a criminal act as she has helped a fugitive to procure travel documents. Her resignation will clear the way for an impartial probe," Sachin Pilot added.
In June, the Congress hit the streets in Jaipur to demand her resignation.
The party's Rajasthan unit passed a resolution at its executive meeting in Udaipur on June 17 seeking Chief Minister Raje's ouster.