Politics
From L to R: Kailash Meghwal, MP Dushyant Singh, Vasundhara Raje.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took the decisive step of suspending its long-standing senior MLA and former Rajasthan Assembly Speaker, Kailash Meghwal, from the party's primary membership on Wednesday (13 September).
This action followed the allegations of corruption he had leveled against Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. The BJP State president, CP Joshi, had recently issued a show cause notice to him regarding this matter.
The chairperson of the BJP's disciplinary committee, Onkar Singh Lakhawat, revealed that Joshi had instructed that Meghwal's response and the entire matter be referred to the committee for further deliberation.
Last month, the 89-year-old Kailash Meghwal had publicly referred to the Union Minister as "corrupt number one" and accused him of accepting bribes worth crores of rupees during his tenure as an officer in Churu district before entering politics.
This dispute between the two prominent leaders has surfaced just ahead of the State Assembly election scheduled for December this year.
Despite the suspension, the six-time octogenarian MLA representing the reserved constituency of Shahpura in Bhilwara district remained resolute.
During a press conference held on Wednesday, he called for the removal of Arjun Ram Meghwal from his Cabinet position until the charges against him, which reportedly include pending court cases, are resolved.
Kailash Meghwal disclosed that he had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his views and would seek the intervention of the Election Commission to have Arjun Ram Meghwal's parliamentary membership revoked.
Additionally, he asserted his intention to run in the upcoming Assembly election, confident in his ability to defeat the BJP candidate by a significant margin.
Kailash Meghwal also alleged that the BJP's State unit was plagued by factionalism "from top to bottom" and that leaders associated with former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje were being singled out.
He claimed that he himself had been marginalized within the party, being denied participation in its ongoing Parivartan Yatras. Notably, the former Assembly Speaker is considered a prominent leader from Raje's camp.
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