Rajasthan High Court bars Vasundhara Raje govt from holding party functions during her 'Gaurav Yatra'

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has held that no government events should be organised on the sidelines of chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s ‘Gaurav Yatra’, now on in the poll-bound state. [caption id=“attachment_5031281” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Twitter/@vasundharabjp[/caption] A division bench headed by Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog made clear Wednesday that no event for which funds are disbursed by the state government will be held along the yatra route on the day it passes through. The 58-day BJP yatra across the state, where assembly polls will be held later this year, was launched by party president Amit Shah on 4 August. The court order clarified that no government function can be held enroute by halting the yatra for a while, and then starting again. The order came on a PIL filed by advocate Vibhuti Bhushan Sharma. Reacting to the court order, Bharatiya Janata Party state president Madan Lal Saini said it has already been made clear that the party and the government events are separate. The government has spent money only on government-related programmes, he said. He added that the party will abide by the directions of the court. Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the details of “misuse” of the taxpayer’s money during the yatra should be disclosed. He said the money should be returned to the exchequer. Bharat Vahini Party state president and former BJP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari said the verdict was a moral defeat for the ruling party. He said those who had “issued orders” to use government resources for the yatra have no right to remain on their posts. Madan Lal Saini said the next phase of the yatra will begin on Thursday in Bikaner division. Earlier, Rajasthan’s Parliamentary affairs minister Rajendra Rathore said, “We are examining the high court order.” He said the yatra has received a good response, creating nervousness among Congress leaders.