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Cong MLA who rebelled against Gehlot in 2020 sends resignation letter to speaker
Rajasthan Congress’ six-time MLA Hemaram Choudhary has been known to be close to Sachin Pilot who led a rebellion agaainst Ashok Gehlot in 2020 before the Congress leadership brokered a truce with Gehlot.
Jaipur/Barmer: Congress legislator Hemaram Choudhary, a sharp critic of Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, resigned from his state assembly seat on Tuesday. Choudhary said he had sent his resignation letter to chief minister Gehlot and assembly speaker CP Joshi but refused to explain the trigger for the move.
“I have submitted my resignation to the speaker, CP Joshi and CM Ashok Gehlot. I had resigned earlier, but it was not accepted. I have been MLA for two-and-a-half years, and have done enough politics. I will speak on the reason behind the resignation, once it is accepted,” 73-year-old Choudhary said.
A state assembly official said Hemaram Choudhary’s resignation was received through email and action will be taken in line with the rules.
Hemaram Choudhary,, a six-time MLA from Gudamalani in the Barmer district, was among the 19 MLAs who rebelled against Ashok Gehlot in the summer of 2020. Sachin Pilot fronted the revolt that threatened to lead to the exit of the Gehlot government before the Congress leadership brokered Sachin Pilot’s truce with Gehlot.
Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasara reached out to the Congress MLA soon after and expressed confidence that he would withdraw his letter. “Hemaram is a senior and respected leader of our party. I have spoken to him after the information about his resignation as MLA. This is a family matter, it will be resolved soon,” Dotasara tweeted.
This is the second time since his election in the December 2018 state polls that Hemaram Choudhary has sent across his resignation letter. He had first resigned in 2019 during the first session of the reconstituted assembly, reportedly because he was miffed that Gehlot did not induct him into his council of ministers. He was pacified by senior leaders and later withdrew.
Hemaram Chaudhary, who was revenue minister in Gehlot’s cabinet in 2008-2013, had offered to quit before the 2013 elections over differences with another MLA over shifting of the oil refinery site from Lilala to Pachpadra in Barmer.
A senior Congress leader said Hemaram Choudhary,has had differences with local leaders and had indicated his unhappiness that his recommendation on issues such as transfer and posting of local officials were not acted upon though requests from other MLAs were accommodated.
Political analyst Manish Godha said he would wait for Hemaram Choudhary,to clarify if local problems led him to send his letter or if his letter was the precursor to another political crisis. “The possibilities of pressure politics can also be ruled out as the disgruntled faction is asking for a cabinet shuffle and political appointments,” Manish Godha said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said Hemaram Choudhary’s resignation letter reflected that there was no internal democracy within the Congress and a senior leader was ignored to an extent that he puts in his papers. “If this is the situation, I don’t know when the government’s ship may sink,” Deputy leader of opposition in the assembly, Rajendra Rathore said.
