Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and party’s Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken reached the state late on Saturday amid speculation of a reshuffle in the chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led cabinet, people familiar with the matter said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, party leaders aware of the developments said that Venugopal and Maken were set to hold a meeting with Gehlot over the cabinet reshuffle, the appointment of district heads of the party organisation and other political appointments.
The demands for cabinet expansion and political appointments gained momentum after reports emerged of resentment again brewing in the camp led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.
On Wednesday, Pilot said he was in touch with the Congress high command over the party issues raised by him and hoped that required steps will be taken by the top leadership.
“In-depth discussions were held on the issues which were raised in the context of Rajasthan. The AICC is taking steps for the betterment of the government and party organisation. We are in touch with the high command and I believe that the AICC is going to take necessary steps required to be taken,” he said.
On July 12, 2020, Pilot, the then Rajasthan deputy chief minister and state Congress chief and 18 MLAs rebelled against chief minister Gehlot, leading to a 30-day-long turmoil that saw conversations of rebel MLAs and a Union minister leaked on social media, a protracted legal battle over powers of the legislative assembly speaker to disqualify MLAs that reached the Supreme Court, and an anticlimactic compromise that ended the revolt, but which, as recent events have shown, did nothing to address the underlying issues.
{{/usCountry}}On July 12, 2020, Pilot, the then Rajasthan deputy chief minister and state Congress chief and 18 MLAs rebelled against chief minister Gehlot, leading to a 30-day-long turmoil that saw conversations of rebel MLAs and a Union minister leaked on social media, a protracted legal battle over powers of the legislative assembly speaker to disqualify MLAs that reached the Supreme Court, and an anticlimactic compromise that ended the revolt, but which, as recent events have shown, did nothing to address the underlying issues.
{{/usCountry}}“It has now been 10 months. I was given to understand that there would be swift action by the committee, but now half of the term is done, and those issues haven’t been resolved. It is unfortunate that so many of the party workers who worked and gave their all for getting us the mandate are not being heard,” said Pilot in an interview to HT in June.