Rajasthan crisis: CM Ashok Gehlot says he will welcome rebel MLAs back if party forgives them

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said that he will welcome Sachin Pilot and other dissident Congress legislators back to his government if the party’s high command forgives them, PTI reported.

“We have no quarrel with anyone,” Gehlot said. “In a democracy, fights happen over ideology, policies and programmes and not for toppling a government. If the party high command forgives them [rebel MLAs], I will embrace them.”

Gehlot hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party over its alleged attempts to oust his government in the state and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must stop that. “The rates of horse-trading have gone up,” Gehlot said. “Narendra Modi is the prime minister of this country. People have given him a chance to be their leader twice. People trust him. He must put an end to the tamasha that is happening in Rajasthan.”