Ashok Gehlot Govt Wins Trust Vote

The Ashok Gehlot government won a confidence vote in the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday, ending the threat triggered by a rebellion within the Congress ranks in the state.

The motion of confidence moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal was passed by voice vote, an expected win after the return of the 19 dissident Congress MLAs led by Sachin Pilot to the party-fold.

Replying to the debate on the motion, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot criticized the BJP, accusing it again of trying to bring down his government.

"I will not let the government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts," he said.

Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end in a beautiful manner and this had hurt the Bharatiya Janata Party.

What was done in Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh? Elected governments are being toppled and democracy is under danger," he said, accusing the BJP of targeting Congress governments.

Without taking names, he alleged that a Union minister was involved in the conspiracy to topple his government, saying this had become clear after some audio clips surfaced.

Targeting the chief minister for his comments against his now sacked deputy, Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria questioned how Pilot became useless after the formation of the government when he had strengthened the party while in opposition.

Mocking Gehlot for keeping his loyalists holed up in hotels for a month, he said if the government had a majority it could have proven it earlier.

He also questioned the Congress government over the deployment of the state police at hotels where the MLAs were staying.