DW BUREAU / chandigarh The Congress's Haryana unit on Monday staged a protest in Panchkula, alleging that the BJP is trying to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan. The protest was held against the "anti-democratic and anti-constitutional" actions of the BJP to topple the democratically-elected Congress government in Rajasthan, state Congress president Kumari Selja said. The country is in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and instead of taking the people of this country out of this crisis, the BJP is engaged in plotting the fall of Congress governments in states, many Congress MLAs at the protest site alleged. "Democracy, our institutions and democratically elected governments are constantly being attacked by the BJP by misuse of power," one of the protestors said. MLAs Shamsher Singh Gogi, Pradeep Chaudhary, Varun Chaudhary, former minister Ashok Arora, were among others present at the protest, as per a party statement. "On one hand, the country is suffering from the corona pandemic, countrymen are suffering from severe economic crisis, unemployment is at its peak, small businesses are on the verge of closure. But the BJP government at the Centre is engaged in a conspiracy to topple Congress governments," Arora alleged. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the current political situation in the state, while the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind. Gehlot had also written a letter to the prime minister on the matter a few days ago.CLP members in the memorandum claimed that horse-trading of MLAs was taking place in Rajasthan to topple an elected government. Governors of many states are "defying" the Constitution at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre without worrying about the dignity of the post, they alleged. "The chief minister told that he has spoken to the prime minister and apprised him of the current political situation in the state," a Congress leader said after a meeting at a hotel where MLAs are holed up following rebellion by Sachin Pilot against the Gehlot government. Pilot has been stripped of his position as deputy chief minister and Rajasthan Congress chief. The chief minister addressed the MLAs at the meeting after a Prarthna Sabha andit was attended by senior Congress leaders. In the memorandum to Kovind, the CLP members demanded that the President intervene and give permission to the state government to call an assembly session. India is battling the COVID-19 pandemic and the Rajasthan government wants to call the assembly session to discuss with all members the economic problems facing the state along with the coronavirus situation so that people get relief. But the state government is not being allowed to call the session, they said in the memorandum. Without taking any names, the CLP members said that despite prima facie evidence of horse-trading and corrupt practices by Union ministers, not removing them from the Cabinet is a "blot." (editor@dailyworld.in)