Jaipur, Nov 25 (IANS): Rajasthan High Court on Monday issued notices to six Congress leaders including former minister Shanti Dhariwal in case of resignations submitted by Congress MLAs during former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's tenure.

On September 25, 2022, at least 81 MLAs submitted resignations amid the speculations of a change of the Chief Minister in Rajasthan by the Congress High Command

BJP leader Rajendra Rathore then filed a PIL in the High Court, saying that the MLAs representing 40 per cent of the state's population were made to resign against their will. Six MLAs submitted resignations on behalf of 75 MLAs to the Speaker. Surprisingly, the Speaker did not even ask them whether their own resignations were voluntary or not.

“When 75 MLAs say that they did not resign voluntarily, then the 6 MLAs Mahesh Joshi, Ramlal Jat, Rafiq Khan, Shanti Dhariwal, Mahendra Chaudhary and Sanyam Lodha, who submitted their resignations to the Speaker, should be asked from where did they get the resignations of the remaining 75 MLAs,” Rathore said.

Rathore had submitted a PIL in the High Court saying that on 25 September 2022, 81 Congress MLAs went to the residence of the then Speaker of the Assembly C.P. Joshi and voluntarily submitted their resignations, however, the Speaker of the Assembly did not take any action.

On January 16, 2023, a reply was submitted to the court on behalf of the Assembly Secretary and it was said that there were only 81 MLAs who resigned. They later withdrew their resignations, saying that the resignations were not voluntary.

The then Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal, Mahesh Joshi, Mahendra Chaudhary, Ramlal Jat, Rafiq Khan and Sanyam Lodha took the resignations of 81 MLAs before the Assembly Speaker during the political crisis on 25 September 2022.