Jaipur (The Hawk): On Wednesday, the former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot raised questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's admiration for Ashok Gehlot and urged his party to make a decision regarding the position of chief minister.
Additionally, he pressed the party to take action against Rajasthani officials who, in September, led a show of support for Gehlot by skipping a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting.
His comments on the intriguing development—which he cautioned against dismissing—signal the resumption of the struggle within the party's state organisation, which had been temporarily put on pause while the Congress presidential election was taking place.
Pilot, who spearheaded an uprising against Gehlot in 2020, made reference to the occasion on Tuesday in Mangarh Dham in Banswara district, where Gehlot and Modi shared the dais. The local leaders paid respect to the tribal members who died in a 1913 revolt against the British.
This is an important event because the prime minister has previously lauded Ghulam Nabi Azad in the same way in the House of Parliament. The PM praised the chief minister. He told reporters at his house, "And we have all seen what circumstances were produced after that.
The allusion was to Azad's resignation from the Congress and subsequent formation of his own party.
The PM's appreciation of the CM is thus an intriguing development and should not be dismissed, he said.
The former head of the Rajasthan Congress indirectly demanded that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) take action against the Rajasthan Congress officials responsible for organising a show of force for Gehlot in September.
Supporters of Gehlot wanted him or an ally to stay in office as chief minister because they thought he might be promoted to the position of party national president and Pilot might replace him in Rajasthan.
The MLAs were supposed to pass a one-line resolution giving the party high command the authority to choose the future CM at the CLP meeting, which the CM's supporters boycotted.
Pilot stated that there were now only 13 months until the assembly elections and that the AICC would quickly make any necessary decisions, including calling another CLP.
Additionally, he implied that the party will take action shortly against members who had received letters from the AICC for indiscipline in September.
In reference to the position of chief minister, he recalled that K C Venugopal, general secretary (organisation) of the AICC, had stated at the time that a decision would be made about Rajasthan soon.
The inaction in Rajasthan must cease, according to Pilot, and action will soon be taken.
Pilot stated that when the CLP meeting could not take place during the turmoil that arose in September, the CM had personally apologised to then-party president Sonia Gandhi. " He stated that observers Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge also took it seriously.
He recalled that the AICC deemed it a problem of indiscipline and issued notices to three members.
The three state governors, according to him, have now responded to the notices.
He stated, "I think the Congress is a traditional and disciplined party, and the norms and the party discipline are applicable to everyone, regardless of how significant an individual may be."
According to the pilot, it cannot occur that the party views a development as indiscipline, sends notices, and solicits responses but makes no judgement. "I think a choice will be made soon.
MLAs who supported Gehlot conducted a parallel meeting at the residence of Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal instead of going to the CLP meeting, and they reportedly delivered their resignation letters to Assembly Speaker C P Joshi after the meeting.
Dhariwal, Mahesh Joshi, the main whip for the Congress, and Dharmendra Rathore, the head of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, had all received notices from the AICC.
The Congress leader responded that it is up to the party to provide anyone with any positions or responsibilities when questioned about the likelihood of any changes in the state.
When he was the Gujarat CM, PM Modi referred to Gehlot as the senior-most chief minister in the CM fraternity during his remarks at the Mangarh event on Tuesday.
Even today, according to Modi, he is one of the senior-most chief ministers.
According to Pilot, the prime minister was supposed to proclaim Mangarh Dham a national monument, but this did not occur, maybe because the state is currently governed by the Congress party.
Despite a prior agreement, he said, Modi did not designate Rajasthan's Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) as a national project.
(Inputs from Agencies)