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The Times of India
The Times of India
National
Ashish Mehta and Shoeb Khan | TNN

Fearing horse-trading in Rajya Sabha polls, Congress approaches Rajasthan ACB

JAIPUR: Congress’s chief whip in Rajasthan and cabinet minister Mahesh Joshi dashed off a preemptive complaint to the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Sunday, seeking its intervention in preventing horse-trading ahead of the June 10 elections to four Rajya Sabha seats.

His move coincided with chief minister Ashok Gehlot pulling out all stops to convince six dissident MLAs to join their corralled colleagues in Udaipur, reminiscent of how the party had dealt with the Sachin Pilot-led rebellion and BJP’s alleged attempts to topple the government less than two years ago.

“The possibilities of horse-trading exist,” Joshi said without referring to any specific instance or party. “I’ve submitted a written complaint to the ACB to ensure it remains alert,” he said.

He said it was his “moral responsibility” as Congress’s chief whip in the state to alert the agency to the likelihood of “voters/MLAs being influenced” with various inducements in the run-up to the vote. He said the state government would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission, if needed. “Our government won’t tolerate any kind of corruption or malpractice like horse-trading ahead of the Rajya Sabha vote,” said Joshi, whose son Rohit has allegedly been in hiding since being named in a rape and blackmail case registered in Delhi.

Meanwhile, ACB director general B L Soni confirmed receiving the complaint.

In Udaipur, junior minister Rajendra Gudha and fellow legislators Wajib Ali, Sandeep Yadav, Lakhan Singh, Giriraj Malinga and Khiladi Lal Bairwa joined the rest of the flock after a latenight meeting with Gehlot. The first four were BSP legislators before they merged with Congress. The chief minister accompanied the group to Udaipur.

“Gehlot sahab listened to us for an hour and noted each and everyone’s grievances. He assured us that he would look into our demands on a priority basis once the polls are over,” said Ali, whose pri- mary grievances are alleged lack of action against illegal mining in his constituency Nagar under Bharatpur district and pending promises made to minorities.

Of the four seats at stake, BJP has the numbers to win one. The party, however, queered the pitch for Congress by backing Independent candidate Subhash Chandra for another seat. BJP has 71 seats and Congress 108 in the 200-member assembly.

Cong appoints observers to 3 states

Congress on Sunday appointed senior members as observers for Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. AICC treasurer Pawan Bansal and Chhattisgarh senior member TS Singh Deo will oversee the Rajya Sabha polls in Rajasthan while Rajiv Shukla and Bhupesh Baghel will be in charge of Haryana. Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, will camp in Maharashtra.

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