The Supreme Court questioned Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi on the reasons for initiating disqualification proceedings against 19 dissident Congress MLAs, including Sachin Pilot
The development comes amid allegations by the Congress that the minister is involved in a bid to topple the Ashok Gehlot government
Lawyer says courts can only intervene when the Speaker takes a decision to suspend or disqualify a member of the House
C P Joshi is the slender thread that stands between a Congress and a BJP government
The central issue is: Can a Speaker have jurisdiction over the actions of MLAs outside the Legislative Assembly and when the Assembly is not in session?
Gehlot said the alleged attempt to bring down the Congress government in the state insulted the people's mandate and was an open violation of constitutional values.
Bari MLA Giriraj Singh Malinga had recently claimed he was made that offer at Pilot's home, by the now sacked deputy chief minister himself
Speaker prevented from taking action against rebel MLAs
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) is also scheduled to meet at 11 am
"Never in the history of India have I ever heard that the head of a party conspired to topple its own government. I have never heard of this till date" Gehlot tweeted.
Shekhawat had earlier denied that he figured in the audio clip and declared he was open to a probe
According to lawyers who appeared before the court in the matter, the hearing will begin at 10:30 am on July 21
This comes days after Balwan Poonia, one of the two CPI(M) MLAs in the state assembly, pledged his support to Gehlot, who is embroiled in a power struggle with his former deputy Sachin Pilot
He said no demand was raised to change the PCC president, a post which Pilot held for the last seven years in Rajasthan
In Rajasthan, the Pilot vs Gehlot dispute remained the same, but despite this, the government did not fall from the contradiction, rather Gehlot reversed BJP's stance, said Shiv Sena
With minimal cost and effort, the party has exposed the irreparable split in the state Congress
For both Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and the rebel Pilot, the court battle is crucial
Poltical crisis in Congress-ruled state takes new turn. In Assam, 2,678 villages are under water and 1,16,404 hectares of crop are damaged in floods
His remarks follow Pilot's open rebellion against the Ashok Gehlot government, which has been on shaky ground with at least 18 legislators backing the rebel leader
Some of the legislators are seen doing yoga in the hotel lawn, crowding around a chef cooking food, watching movies, playing carrom and celebrating the birthday of an MLA