Congress leader Sachin Pilot who is at the centre of the Rajasthan political crisis on Wednesday has taken the allegation by one of the party leader head-on and demanded him to pay Re 1 as compensation and a written apology.
Congress leader Giriraj Singh Malinga had alleged Pilot of being indulged in conspiring in horse-trading on behalf of BJP.
Earlier this week, he said that he has evidence against Pilot of his involvement in the horse-trading.
Sachin Pilot has sent a legal notice to Malinga over the accusation and said that it was done with a view to tarnish his image and extract political mileage.
“I had a discussion with Sachin Pilot. He spoke to me and said how much do you want. He told me Rs 35 crore,” Malinga had said on Monday.
He had claimed that Sachin Pilot has spoken to him two or three times about this since December.
“This has been happening since December, it is nothing new. I told them I cannot do this,” he said.
In the legal notice sent to Malinga, Sachin Pilot said it was “surprising that (Malinga) remained silent for seven months”.
The MLA, he suggested, has “suddenly raked up a bunch of lies” to malign his reputation.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has targeted Pilot strongly by saying that he has ‘evidence’ of Pilot’s involvement in horse-trading and deal-making.
Earlier in the day, Assembly Speaker CP Joshi filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court to avert what he called a “constitutional crisis” in the state.
Announcing his decision to move the Supreme Court against the high court order at a press conference earlier today, he also warned that the rebels were “heading for a constitutional crisis”.
Joshi said a Speaker has the complete authority to send a show-cause notice.