Raje likely to step down

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Monday skipped a scheduled meeting with senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu to convey when she would step down as leader opposition in Rajasthan assembly in pursuant of the party’s directive. Instead, Raje sent her son and engaged her son Dushyant Singh as her emissary to meet Naidu.

Dushyant, who is BJP MP from Jhalawar, held an hour-long meeting with and is understood to have discussed with him where Raje will be accommodated in the organization once she submits her resignation and is said to have put forth Raje's demands.

For the record Raje was unwell, and she would not be able to meet any senior leader on Monday. However, Raje may call on LK Advani on Tuesday and after hearing from the leadership about the rehabilitation package , may put in her paper.

BJP sources said Raje wants the next leader of opposition in the state assembly to be from her camp. She has also demanded general secretary's post in the central leadership as well as revocation of the suspension of two of her loyal MLAs.

The party had asked her to resign from the post following the defeat in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state.

Raje’s defiance had caused a great deal of embarrassment to the party. BJP Chief Rajnath Singh had asked her to quit the post of leader of Opposition almost a fortnight ago, but Raje had confronted the party with the fact that she enjoyed support of majority of BJP MLAs in the house.

The BJP leadership summoned Raje to Delhi to meet Venkaiah Naidu to defuse the crisis in Rajasthan even as the former Chief Minister showed some signs of softening over her refusal to step down as Leader of Opposition. The party high command had given her time till August 30 to put in her papers after the short session of the State Assembly.

The former Chief Minister, who held a show of strength of BJP MLAs on Wednesday attended by 70 of the 78 legislators, said in Jaipur three days ago that she was a disciplined soldier of the party and would like to "sort out this problem by talking" to its leadership whose orders were "supreme" to her.
from in.com