Jaipur, June 8: After the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Chief Election Commission (CEC), now it is the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) entry that has made the Rajya Sabha poll contest interesting in Rajasthan.
The high voltage ‘drama’, which started on Tuesday morning after Rajasthan Assembly chief whip and state minister Mahesh Joshi went to the secretariat and submitted a letter in the name of CEC fearing horse-trading of their MLAs, continued till late night.
Close on the heels of Joshi, the Rajasthan BJP also submitted a complaint to the Election Commission and they also wrote to the ED demanding action on the use of black money in persuading the Congress MLAs and independents-allies who have been taken into political barricading. These were the same MLAs, who were vocal against the CM and now have been shifted to the same camp where the Congress MLAs have been herded, asked the BJP leaders.
The BJP wrote to the ED that the Congress lacks the magical number to win the third seat in the Rajya Sabha polls, but is adopting the “Saam, Daam, Dand and Bhed” policy.
“Old pending cases lingering since years are being opened and challans are being made against the opposition MLAs, misusing the government agencies, which are intimidating them. The Chief Minister and the ministers of the Congress government of the state are working to influence and harass the legislators of the opposition, including the MLAs of independent and regional parties,” said the letter.
The BJP in the letter written to the ED said, “State government aircraft are being misused in Rajya Sabha elections. MLAs are being brought through chartered planes. Big industrialists were also seen with the MLAs in the chartered planes. Crores of rupees are being spent like water for MLAs who have been kept in five star hotels. The possibility of crores of rupees being transacted in five star hotels also cannot be ruled out. For this reason, black money of crores of rupees can also be found in these hotels. So ED and EC should take action,” they added.
After this, on Tuesday night, the Congress leaders also became active and wrote a letter to the Election Commission accusing the BJP and Subhash Chandra of horse-trading.
In the letter written on Tuesday night to EC, Congress State President Govind Singh Dotasara and Deputy Chief Whip Mahendra Chaudhary wrote to the Election Commission demanding action against the BJP and RS independent candidate Subhash Chandra.
The Congress in the letter said, “Not a single independent has approved Subhash Chandra’s nomination form. All his 10 proposers are BJP MLAs so Chandra cannot win. BJP and Subhash Chandra are conspiring to win a Rajya Sabha seat forcibly via horse-trading using muscle and money power.
“In the Rajya Sabha elections, horse-trading, and misuse of money and power have been completely exposed, when Subhash Chandra in a press conference called on Tuesday said that he has got the support of 4 more MLAs while eight people will cross-vote from Congress. It is clear that BJP and Subhash Chandra are doing horse-trading directly, you know that the basis of horse-trading is money-and instilling fear of central government agencies like ED, CBI, Income Tax, etc.”
The letter further says that on one hand, the BJP and Subhash Chandra are showing arrogance by claiming to get cross voting done by MLAs, and on the other hand the BJP was pressurising in the name of ED and Income Tax.
It is clear that this is a legal offence and taking cognizance of the matter, the Election Commission and the police should register a criminal case against the Rajasthan BJP President, Rajasthan BJP Legislature Party leader, BJP-backed independent candidate Subhash Chandra and other BJP leaders by keeping necessary constitutional and legal norms in mind, said the Congress letter.
IANS