Jaipur, Aug 12 (UNI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot here on Wednesday said he has asked MLAs in his support to forgive the rebels to bring an end to political crisis and move ahead.
The assertion from Mr Gehlot came a day after former state deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot returned to Jaipur after Congress High Command acknowledged his grievances against the leadership of Mr Gehlot and assured to address them.
"My message to MLAs is forget and forgive and move ahead," Mr Gehlot told mediapersons here.
However, the Chief Minister said forgiving the rebels is not easy for his supporters who have lived together in hotels and developed new bonds.
"It is quite natural for them to be angry. They lived together for more than a month and developed new bonds," he reasoned.
"But sometimes for the nation, state and people, we have to make sacrifices. They understood this and accepted my appeal," Mr Gehlot stated.
In a jibe against Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr Gehlot said out of three planes destined for Gujarat, only one took off.
Last week, the BJP ferried few of its MLAs to neighbouring Gujarat to prevent crossovers between parties before a Floor test.
The legislative supporting Gehlot, sequestered at Suryagarh Hotel in Jaisalmer, have left for Jaipur in chartered planes.
Now, both the camps will be in Jaipur nearly after a month since the tussle began. However, there is no clue of any meeting or a get together between the two. Also, after truce, Mr Gehlot and Mr Pilot are yet to meet formally.
If the 19 rebels including Mr Pilot sit together with Mr Gehlot at the treasury benches in the State Assembly, the Congress has enough numbers to continue ruling the House.
The Gehlot government has called an Assembly session from August 14 onwards and is likely to go for the Floor test.
In the present Assembly, Congress has 107 MLAs, while BJP has 72. Thirteen independents, two MLAs each from the CPI(M) and the Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP), and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have supported the Congress.
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