E-Paper
Sacked Rajasthan minister joins Shinde-led Shiv Sena
CM Eknath Shinde said that Rajasthan needs improved law and order, safety of women, job opportunities for youths and progress of farmers
Former Rajasthan minister and Congress legislator Rajendra Singh Gudha, who was sacked from the cabinet after he attacked his party government in the assembly, on Saturday joined the Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Gudha, the legislator from Udaipurwati assembly constituency, who was elected on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket in 2018 and then switched to the Congress, has been targeting Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot since his termination from the cabinet on July 21 after he cornered the government in the assembly drawing parallels between sexual violence in ethnic strife-torn Manipur and crimes against women in Rajasthan.
Former minister of state for panchayati raj and rural development, Gudha has claimed that he had a “red diary” that contained details of alleged illegal transactions by Gehlot. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has used the allegation to attack the Congress-led government ahead of the crucial state assembly polls due for later this year. Shinde welcomed Gudha to the Shiv Sena during an event in Udaipurwati in Jhunjhunu district, saying he “sacrificed” the ministerial position for the cause of people.
“He (Gudha) spoke about the safety of women and law and order but was removed. What wrong did he say?” Shinde said, adding that leaders like the former Rajasthan minister were invaluable to the country and the state.
Addressing the gathering, Shinde further said that Rajasthan needs improved law and order, safety of women, job opportunities for youths and progress of farmers.
“Is it a crime to support the truth?... You [Gudha] left the ministerial post, but did not leave the truth,” Shinde added.
On the possibility of an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan, Shinde — whose party is in alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra — said that decisions on it will be taken when elections are closer. Shiv Sena will only engage with the “politics of development” for polls, he added.
After joining the Shiv Sena, Gudha was quoted by news agency ANI as saying: “With Eknath Shinde, I will work for the youth and women of the state...”
A senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity, said Gudha joining the Shiv Sena will be his loss and not the state’s ruling party. “We are in no haste to remove him. But the party will issue a notice and the decision will be taken by the assembly speaker,” the leader added.
Political analyst Narayan Bareth said the BJP and Shinde-led party have similar “Hindutva” agenda, adding that Gudha will miss out on core Congress vote bank if he chooses to contest on Shiv Sena ticket.
“The Congress is ignoring Gudha as the party has already accepted that he won’t stick with the party. It seems, the ruling party does not want to get into any verbal spat with Gudha,” Bareth added.
Elections to the 200-member Rajasthan legislative assembly are scheduled for later this year. In 2018, Gudha won the Udaipurwati assembly seat on a BSP ticket and later joined the Congress along with five other BSP legislators. The BSP had won six seats in the last assembly polls.
