Gehlot’s OSD resigns following tweet seen as criticism of Congress brass

Like Punjab, discontent is simmering within Rajasthan Congress too, with many wondering if the uneasy truce between factions lead by CM Gehlot and his one-time deputy Sachin Pilot will last long

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s officer on special duty (OSD) Lokesh Sharma submitted his resignation after a tweet he posted on Saturday was seen as a comment on the Congress high command’s handling of the crisis in its Punjab unit leading to Captain Amarinder Singh’s resignation as chief minister, triggering a row.

Lokesh Sharma was associated with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot for over a decade and had been looking after his social media. (ANI Photo)

Amarinder Singh later said he felt he had been “humiliated” thrice by Congress leadership and added that he won’t accept Punjab Congress unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu as the party’s face in the coming polls.

Sharma, who is OSD in charge of IT-cell, tweeted two lines in Hindi, “Majboot ko Majboor, Mamuli Ko Magroor Kiya Jaye...Baad hi Khet Ko Khaay, Us Fasal Ko Kaun Bachaye!!”. When loosely translated, the verse means that when a strong person gets forced and an insignificant person gets an ego massage then nobody can save the crop from getting eaten by the fence itself.

After his tweet raised eyebrows within the Congress circles with some reading it as a cryptic comment on the party high command’s handling of the Punjab crisis, Sharma sent his resignation to Gehlot late on Saturday night with an apology.

Sharma has been associated with Gehlot for over a decade now and has been looking after his social media. He was made the OSD after Gehlot came to power in December 2018.

Offering an explanation on his tweet, Sharma said he had been active on the micro-blogging site since 2010 and had never crossed party lines or made “wrong” comments about any leader of the party. He also claimed that he had stopped posting political tweets after becoming the CM’s OSD.

However, he offered an apology if his tweet had unintentionally hurt either the party, or the government or the party high command in any way.

Like Punjab, discontent is simmering within Rajasthan Congress too, with many wondering if the uneasy truce between factions lead by CM Gehlot and his one-time deputy Sachin Pilot will last long. It was also reported earlier that CM Gehlot was not fully in favour of the solution suggested by the party high command for power sharing in the state.