BJP rejects Ashok Gehlot's charge of horse-trading in Rajasthan

The BJP on Saturday rejected Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's charge that it was trying to topple his government, and claimed there was infighting in the ruling Congress.

The party also hit out at the chief minister over the case registered by police's special operations group (SOG) against two persons in connection with alleged horse trading of MLAs ahead of Rajya Sabha polls, saying he should utilise agencies like SOG and ACB for crime control "instead of threatening" MLAs and political parties.

“The chief minister did not talk logically in his press conference. It is their own infighting but he wants to blame BJP. He is a veteran leader of the Congress and his pain is justified because the Congress has shrunk in the country,” BJP's state president Satish Poonia told reporters.

He was reacting after Gehlot alleged that Poonia, Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria and Rajendra Rathore were involved in efforts to topple his government on the direction of the BJP's central leadership.

Kataria, who is in Udaipur, challenged the chief minister to prove the allegations.

“He talked about 'bakra-mandi'. How can he say like this, he should respond," Poonia said.

Gehlot had alleged that the BJP leaders were murdering democracy by trying to "buy" MLAs and turning the state's politics into a goat market, “bakra-mandi”.

The chief minister had said he was confident that his government will last its full term.

Poonia took a swipe at Gehlot, saying why had the Congress kept its MLAs at a resort before the Rajya Sabha polls.

"If he was so confident, why he had to confine the MLAs to a resort for several days ahead of Rajya Sabha elections?” he said.

"The chief minister should utilise the agencies like SOG and ACB for crime control instead of threatening the MLAs and political parties," he said.