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Gehlot: MLAs got agitated at new CM name
On September 25, over 90 MLAs submitted their resignations to assembly speaker CP Joshi, opposing the legislature party meeting called to determine Gehlot’s successor as chief minister, as he was the frontrunner for the post of Congress president in the party election.
In a veiled attack on Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Sunday that several legislators resigned during the political crisis last week because they resented the name proposed for a new chief minister of the state.
On September 25, over 90 MLAs submitted their resignations to assembly speaker CP Joshi, opposing the legislature party meeting called to determine Gehlot’s successor as chief minister, as he was the frontrunner for the post of Congress president in the party election.
Later, after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Gehlot announced that he will not contest the Congress presidential election, taking moral responsibility for the political crisis in the state.
On Sunday, Gehlot said that usually when a new chief minister is to be appointed, a majority of MLAs support the new candidate. “But this did not happen in Rajasthan. Normally, they turn to the new candidate. I, too, don’t consider it wrong. But, it was a new case in Rajasthan where the MLAs got agitated just in the name of the new chief minister,” Gehlot said, without naming Pilot.
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“I was in Jaisalmer. I could not guess, but the MLAs sensed who was going to be the new chief minister. All our leaders should research why there was resentment? If there are shortcomings, then it should be worked out,” Gehlot said at a media briefing at the state secretariat in Jaipur after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary.
On any change on the post of chief minister, Gehlot reiterated that it was for the party high command to decide. “I am doing my work, and if a decision has to be taken, it is for the party high command to take,” he said.
The veteran Congress leader on Saturday asked people to send suggestions about the next budget directly to him, hinting that he was there to stay. He also declared that he cannot remain away from the people of Rajasthan “till his last breath” and that the Congress government will complete its full term of five years.
The chief minister said his objective was to bring the Congress government back to power in Rajasthan at the next assembly elections in 2023, which is important for the revival of the party at the national level.
“I had already conveyed to madam (Sonia Gandhi) and Ajay Maken in August that it is not necessary that I should be the chief minister. I told them that I am ready to withdraw as chief minister. I said I will support and campaign because it should be our aim to revive the Congress party,” he said.
He asserted that he cannot abandon the 102 MLAs who had saved his government during the political crisis in July 2020 and, therefore, he apologised to Sonia Gandhi.
Hitting out at the MLAs who had revolted against him in 2020, Gehlot said they were “hand-in-glove” with the state opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. “Some of our MLAs met Amit Shah, Dharmendra Pradhan and other leaders. Amit Shah was offering sweets to our MLAs,” he said, without naming the Congress MLAs. “So, how can I forget those 102 MLAs who saved the Congress government?”
Taking a dig at the central observers deputed by the party high command, he said: “The observer is a big post, and anyone acting as an observer should act on behalf of the party high command and should reflect their aura. Observers come on behalf of the party high command. Why such circumstances were developed here, research should be done,” he said, referring to the rebellion by the MLAs.
Also read: Gehlot says MLAs got agitated over ‘new CM name’, skips mentioning Pilot
On September 25, before the Congress legislature party meeting, Gehlot’s loyalist MLAs held a parallel meeting at the residence of parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal, opposing any move to make Pilot the new chief minister after Gehlot appeared set to contest the Congress presidential election.
Their demand was to choose someone as the new chief minister from 102 MLAs who supported Gehlot during the political crisis in July 2020. Maken, All-India Congress Committee general secretary incharge for Rajasthan, and Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, were sent by the central leadership as observers to Rajasthan to hold the legislature party meeting.
“The messengers sent by the high command have been informed by Mukhiya ji (the CM) about their position and their way of working. The courage of the chief minister, who gave a direct challenge to the high command by placing a gun on the shoulder of the observer, is indeed commendable,” deputy Leader of Opposition, Rajendra Rathore of the BJP, had tweeted.
“The Chief Minister, who has become Mia Mittu (self-praising), is glorifying the exploits of himself and his colleagues by justifying them. But at the same time he must also answer why he apologized to Sonia Gandhi while demonstrating his incompetence as Chief Minister?” he said.
