Kapil Sibal represented the President of Rajasthan in the Supreme Court of Congress battle against Sachin Pilot.
New Delhi:
You cannot be the chief minister of a state with the support of only 20 to 25 lawmakers, Congress leader Kapil Sibal, the Sachin Pilot party rebel, said at a press conference on Friday, hours after the sacked Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan has been granted a temporary stay at the Supreme Court. “You can’t have a tamasha (big show) party in front of the audience,” said Sibal.
“I want to ask Sachin, do you want to become chief minister? Tell us. Why the protest? If you say you are not joining the BJP, then why are you sitting in Haryana? Why are you not attended Congress meetings? ” he said.
“Do you want to form your own party? Anyway, go out and talk. Don’t sit in a hotel,” said Sibal, a senior lawyer who represented the President of Rajasthan in the battle for the Supreme Court of Congress against Mr. Pilot’s team, told me.
“The party is intrigued by your actions. You cannot party a tamasha in front of the audience. I am sure that is not your intention,” Sibal said.
Over the past two weeks, Mr Pilot has staged a mutiny against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with the support of 18 other MPs who are being held captive in BJP-led Haryana.
Congress has a small lead over the opposition and has only two more than the 101 majority in Rajasthan’s 200-member assembly. Team Pilot has 19 MPs and the BJP has 72. Including small parties and independent MPs, the opposition currently has 97.
Congress said on Friday it would approach the Supreme Court hours after the Rajasthan High Court said no action could be taken against Sachin Pilot and other rebel party leaders yet.
The order had been seen as a reprieve for the group from immediate disqualification by President CP Joshi, although the verdict was delayed after the high court accepted Team Pilot’s eleventh hour request to add the center to the case so that we can determine whether the anti-defection law applies to them.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court, where Sibal defended the President, refused to prevent the High Court from delivering the verdict, saying the “voice of dissent” cannot be suppressed in a democracy.
Speaking to GalacticGaming on Friday, Mr Sibal said: “How does the court know this is dissent within the party? His request was to become chief minister in a year. Is that right? dissent? “
Speaking about the High Court order, he said: “If the high court justices are not going to follow the orders given by five Supreme Court justices, then I might as well take off my robes.”
