"Looking To Teach Ashok Gehlot Lesson": Mayawati Amid Rajasthan Fight

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will "be taught a lesson" for "theft of MLAs", warned Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati today, declaring she would go all the way to the Supreme Court to fight six MLAs of her party joining the Congress last year.

Ashok Gehlot has a very thin lead in the assembly after a revolt by his sacked deputy Sachin Pilot. He is just one ahead of the majority mark of 101 in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly. Six MLAs who merged the Rajasthan BSP into the Congress in September helped him secure his tally.

BJP leader Madan Dilawar has petitioned the Rajasthan High Court against the merger; he dropped an earlier case on the court's advice and filed a fresh petition today. The BSP has also approached the court and asked to be made a part of the BJP leader's petition. The petitions argue that the MLAs cannot legally merge into the Congress in just one state since the BSP is a national party.

"BSP could have gone to the court earlier too but we were looking for a time to teach the Congress party and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot a lesson. Now we have decided to go to the Court. We will not let this matter alone. We will go even to the Supreme Court," Mayawati said.

The BSP's petition indicates Mayawati is willing to join forces with the BJP if it means getting back at the Congress. 

She strongly refuted Congress allegations that she was playing into the hands of the BJP and actively collaborating with the party against the Rajasthan Congress government.

"Can Congress high command not see who the thief in Rajasthan is? Can they not see Mr Gehlot? It is easy for them to point fingers at BSP. We want to teach the Congress a lesson. They want to hide their faults so they call us puppets of BJP. They should stop the fake outrage," she said.

The BSP chief, who has been dialing up her attacks on the Congress since their failed partnership in the 2018 state polls and the 2019 general election, said she felt betrayed by the Congress. "After the elections results, BSP gave unconditional support of all its six MLAs to the Congress. Unfortunately, Chief Minister Gehlot, out of malicious intent and to damage the BSP, merged them with the Congress unconstitutionally. He did the same even in his last tenure," raged the Uttar Pradesh leader.

She repeated that the BSP had ordered the MLAs to vote against Congress in any test of strength in the Rajasthan Assembly. "If they don't do so, their party membership will be cancelled," Mayawati said.

In June, the BSP had gone to the Election Commission with the request that the six MLAs be ordered to follow its whip rather than vote as Congress members in the Rajya Sabha election. But the powerful election body refused to intervene.