Jaipur: Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot filed a writ petition in the high court today, seeking the quashing of a controversial ordinance which protects judges and bureaucrats from being probed without the prior sanction of the state government.

He claimed that the BJP government in the state, facing criticism from all quarters over the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance 2017, had referred its replacing bill to a select committee of the Assembly only to safeguard its image.

"But, the ordinance is still in existence," he added. Pilot said he had urged the court to direct the Vasundhara Raje government to withdraw the ordinance.

"Introducing such an ordinance shows that the government is violating articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution," he added. The Congress leader also held the state government responsible for the deadlock in the Assembly.

"The entire country has criticised the bill, which has provisions to shield the corrupt and violates the rights of the public, media and judiciary," he said. The ordinance was issued in September and its replacing bill was tabled in the state Assembly on Monday. On Tuesday, following protests from the opposition, the replacing bill was referred to a select committee of the House. (PTI)