State secretary of Sarpanch Sangh, Hanuman Chaudhary, had on Friday said the minister made the statement in Nagaur sometime back.
The 15 ministers were sworn in on Sunday for the expanded Gehlot cabinet, fulfilling a key demand of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot whose rebellion last year shook the state's Congress government.
The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government will have a total of 30 ministers, including 18 who had resigned earlier.
Ramesh Meena, who was among those BSP legislators who made the switch to Congress, said: "The chief minister should honestly tell how much money was paid to us when we joined Congress and left the the BSP in the last Congress government."
The Congress had taken action against them on July 17 after three audio tapes allegedly pertaining to the conspiracy to topple the government surfaced.
'Every Congressman in Rajasthan is in Ashok Gehlot's pocket.'
"Where did we make any statement against the party? We wanted to draw the attention of the party high-command to the fact that we were not able to deliver on things promised in the manifesto for which the public elected us," Vishvendra Singh said in a video message.
Fifteen ministers took the oath in Rajasthan on Sunday in a cabinet expansion that included 12 new faces, fulfilling a key demand of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot whose rebellion last year shook the state's Congress government.
Gehlot alleged that that the BJP wanted to repeat what it had done in Madhya Pradesh.
The CLP meeting began about three hours later than scheduled, with ministers and MLAs flashed victory signs for the cameras.
The Ashok Gehlot camp has been saying that they enjoyed the support of 109 MLAs, a claim contested by the Pilot loyalists. In the run-up to the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Jaipur on Tuesday, Pilot loyalist Ramesh Meena said, "A floor test should be conducted in the assembly. This will expose the claim that the Ashok Gehlot government has the support of 109 MLAs."
"I have seen Pilot's statement in the media that he will not join the BJP. If you do not want to go to the BJP, stop accepting the hospitality of the BJP immediately," Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said.
Taking a dig at the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing the Rajasthan ruling party legislators of violating social distancing norms and other COVID-19 protocols which the government directs people to follow strictly but are violated when it comes to its MLAs.
Pilot, who is also the president of the state unit of the party, on Tuesday night claimed he has the support of 30 MLAs and the Gehlot government is now in minority.
The 19 MLAs were sent notices Tuesday by the Speaker after the Congress complained that they had defied a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings.
'Nobody understands Gehlot's politics.' 'The Congress high command should wake up.'
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has alleged that the BJP was conspiring to poach the MLAs in order to destabilise his government, a charge denied by the saffron party.
This is the first reaction by senior BJP leader Raje who has been the chief minister of the state for two terms.
Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi confirmed that disqualification notices have been sent out Tuesday on the basis of the complaint made by the party. The dissidents have to reply by Friday.
'These are lies that Priyanka Gandhi rung up Sachin Pilot.'
Two other Rajasthan ministers Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were also sacked from the state cabinet after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party, its second in the last two days. The meeting was billed as a 'second chance' for Pilot, who had turned down appeals from the party's top leadership -- including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi -- to return to the fold.
By Monday morning, a dozen dissidents were ready to leave the Pilot camp. Having found a hole at the bottom of his boat, Pilot, with dwindling numbers, in sheer desperation, connected with Priyanka Gandhi, reveals Prakash Bhandari.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot separately.
Kin of jailed leaders Mahipal Maderna, Malkhan Singh Bishnoi and Babulal Nagar -- accused in cases like rape and murder -- have found place in the third list of Congress hopefuls for the Assembly elections along with two other party leaders who are facing criminal charges.
Two state ministers have also come out in the open to demand a detailed assessment by the top leadership.
A writ petition, challenging the ordinance was filed in the Rajasthan high court.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances