Rajasthan Congress MLA Ganesh Ghogra offers to resign after FIR

Dungarpur lawmaker Ganesh Ghogra’s complaint comes after Dungarpur’s Sadar police station registered a case against the MLA and others after local residents locked up local district administration officials

Congress lawmaker and Rajasthan youth Congress chief Ganesh Ghogra on Wednesday sent his resignation as a legislator to chief minister Ashok Gehlot after a case was lodged against him and 60 others for creating ruckus.

Dungarpur MLA Ganesh Ghogra sent his letter to resign from the Rajasthan assembly to chief minister Ashok Gehlot, not the assembly speaker (Twitter/Rahullranawat)

In his letter to the chief minister, Ghogra said he was being “neglected” and “my voice is suppressed by local administrative officers” despite being the Dungarpur legislator and Rajasthan youth Congress president.

The move is seen as an effort to pressure the government to address his concerns rather than resign his seat in the assembly. A lawmaker who wants to resign from the assembly is required to address his communication to the assembly speaker.

The complaint comes after Dungarpur’s Sadar police station registered a case against Ghogra and others after local residents locked up local district administration officials including sub divisional magistrate and tehsildar in the panchayat bhawan during a follow-up camp of the state government’s Prashasan Gaon ke Sang campaign on Tuesday. The MLA reached the spot and sat on dharna with the locals.

The authorities registered a case against Ghogra and others late on Tuesday on a complaint by the tehsildar, accusing them of obstructing public servant in the discharge of his public functions, unlawful assembly, wrongful confinement), wrongful confinement to extort property or commit illegal act and use of criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty.

Police said 11 people including Ghogra were named in the FIR and 50-60 others are unnamed.

“I will not let people’s voices be suppressed and will keep fighting for their rights. The official should be immediately removed. What was the point of organizing a camp, if they weren’t prepared,” the legislator told reporters on Wednesday.

“Today the bureaucracy in the government has overpowered the system… They are lodging cases at midnight. A tribal is targeted and his image is being tarnished. The officials are claiming that whatever the tribal is doing is wrong. They are being suppressed…. If MLAs raise their voice then a case is lodged against him and 60 others”.