Rajasthan MLAs set to withdraw resignations pending with Speaker
Development comes three months after about 90 legislators put in their papers en masse in protest
3 min read
“The resignations will be withdrawn in the days to come,” said the party leader. (File) Over three months after they submitted their resignations to Assembly Speaker C P Joshi, about 90 Rajasthan Congress MLAs, most of them loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, are all set to withdraw their letters.
While there is no official word from the party, sources told The Indian Express that the MLAs have been asked to take back their resignations. “The MLAs will visit the Speaker in person and submit a letter, in a set format, stating that they are withdrawing their resignation,” a party leader said.
Angry over the Congress high command’s “unilateral” decision to opt for a new chief minister of Rajasthan — said to have been Sachin Pilot — without consulting them, nearly 90 MLAs had skipped the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meet and submitted their resignations to Joshi on September 25, which have been pending with him since. Gehlot, at that time, was in the running for the post of Congress national president.
“The resignations will be withdrawn in the days to come,” said the party leader.
The move follows three major developments: the announcement of Budget Session from January 23, a notice by Rajasthan High Court to Speaker Joshi over the pending resignations and discussions and feedback by new Congress state in-charge, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, with party leaders in Jaipur for almost three days.
On Wednesday, Randhawa had met former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and on Friday, he met the Speaker.
Sources said some party leaders had brought up the issue of factionalism between Gehlot and Pilot in their feedback discussions with Randhawa, and withdrawing resignations of Gehlot loyalists is a step towards resolving it.
Asked about the tussle in the State Congress, Randhawa told journalists, “I am sitting here, not in a five star (hotel), I am sitting among the people. Hum khatam karenge (We will end it).”
He said right now his priority is setting up the organisation and completing appointments to the block, district and state-level units of the party, and the list for the same will be out “in 1-2 days”. For Assembly elections, due next year, he said tickets won’t be distributed anytime soon; they will be decided post-surveys.
On Thursday, Governor Kalraj Mishra had given his assent for calling the Assembly session from January 23.
On December 6, the High Court had issued notices to the Assembly Speaker and Secretary in the matter concerning the resignations of the MLAs, following a petition by deputy Leader of the Opposition, Rajendra Rathore.
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