Raje resigns as Rajasthan Opposition leader

PTI

New Delhi: The former chief minister, Ms Vasundhara Raje, on Friday resigned as leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly after having defied the BJP high command for nearly three months.

Ms Raje submitted her resignation to the senior party leader, Mr L.K. Advani, hours before a meeting of the party's Parliamentary Board which was expected to take up the issue, sources close to her said.

The Parliamentary board meeting was convened amid indications that the party high command was contemplating disciplinary action against Ms Raje, who had been defying a directive to step down as Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan.

The party high command had asked Ms Raje in August to take moral responsibility for BJP's defeat in the Lok Sabha and the state assembly polls and step down from the post.

She, however, had defied the directive.

The party had nominated senior party leader, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, in September to talk to her and persuade her to follow the party diktat. But Ms Raje did not meet him for days, saying she was unwell.

Subsequently, the party nominated another senior leader, Ms Sushma Swaraj, to persuade Ms Raje to step down but the Rajasthan BJP leader did not meet her despite an appointment scheduled for October 20. Party sources said Ms Raje is unlikely to be rehabilitated at the central level because of her defiance.