Senior Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma trying to topple govt, claims Ashok Gehlot camp

Senior Congress legislator Bhanwarlal Sharma, who is a Sachin Pilot loyalist, was on Thursday accused by his party members of making several attempts of toppling governments but never succeeding.

A statement, issued by the supporters of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, said that Sharma was making the fifth attempt to topple the government this time with rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot.

"Former minister and MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma had attempted to topple the government in the 90s. This is his fifth attempt to topple the government but he never succeeded," the statement from Gehlot camp said.

“Ashok Gehlot while being a union minister and PCC president that time had always objected to toppling BJP government and had said that horse trading is not a tradition in Rajasthan," the statement said.

It further said when the then chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had gone to the US for a heart surgery, Sharma had met Gehlot with the intention of overthrowing the state government.

However, Gehlot asked Sharma that conspiracy to topple the government led by a person who was in a foreign country for treatment was against morality, the statement said.

It claimed that Sharma had also distributed money to MLAs and that one of the MLAs even told Shekhawat that he was given Rs five lakh.

A seven-time MLA, Sharma was from Janata Dal at that time and he later joined Congress.

"That Bhanwarlal Sharma is again dreaming of forming a government with the help of BJP by being a part of Sachin Pilot's conspiracy," the statement alleged.

The statement was issued after audio clips surfaced in which Sharma is purportedly heard discussing with a union minister about luring MLAs from the Ashok Gehlot camp to Sachin Pilot's side.

Sharma, however, said the audio clips were fake.

"This is neither my voice nor did I talk. This is totally fake," Sharma, who is Sardarshaha (Churu) MLA, said in a video message.