Gehlot camp sticks to its guns, counters Maken by flagging rage, ‘unheard’ voices, ‘BJP conspiracy’

Despite being attacked by Maken for indulging in “conflicts of interest” by demanding a conditional CLP resolution and for showing “indiscipline” by holding an unofficial meeting parallel to the CLP at Parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal’s residence, the Gehlot loyalist MLAs seemed to be unfazed, even as they stuck to their stance.

“If we are asked for a clarification by the Congress high command in writing or orally, or we are sent any notice, then we will clarify our position. We believe that we haven’t done anything that amounts to indiscipline and there can be no doubt over our dedication towards the party and high command,” Congress chief whip and cabinet minister Mahesh Joshi told reporters.

He said the Congress MLAs communicated to Maken and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, the two AICC observers sent for the CLP meet, that no one from those should be allowed to become the CM or Gehlot’s successor who had rebelled against the party in 2020. He was referring to Pilot’s move along with his 18 loyalist Congress MLAs to raise a banner of revolt against Gehlot in July-August 2020, which had then pushed the party-led government to the brink of a collapse.

Dhariwal, who had hosted the Gehlot loyalist MLAs at his residence, said their resignations were a result of “resentment and anger” among them. “The MLAs had resentment that why would a one-line resolution be passed (in the CLP). We said that our voices should be heard. Those committed 102 MLAs who had saved the Congress (during the 2020 political crisis), they feared that the CM’s chair would go to people who had stabbed the Congress in its back. Ninety-two people have resigned,” Dhariwal said while speaking to reporters.

Dhariwal and Joshi are said to be among Gehlot’s staunch loyalists, and both of them were instrumental in mobilising the MLAs who huddled at Dhariwal’s house and skipped the CLP meeting. Later on Sunday night, the duo were among a delegation of the MLAs who met Maken and Kharge to lay out their conditions for the CLP resolutions that the later rejected.

The MLAs had returned to their respective homes after submitting their resignations to Speaker Joshi, who has remained silent over their move so far.

Cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas went a step ahead, charging that the BJP was again trying to “topple” the Congress government in the state. “It is a democracy and if suddenly MLAs come to know that there is a meeting and a rumour is spread it should be cleared because it is a family matter. But BJP is trying to conspire to topple the government and if MLAs are meeting to save (us) from the conspiracy, their voices should be heard,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference on Monday evening, Dhariwal said, “It is my charge against the general secretary (Maken) that he in a partisan way was speaking to MLAs here for several days, and we were getting the news that he was telling them to associate with Sachin Pilot and campaign in his favour. We have proof of this.”