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Journalism of Courage
In what is set to add to the friction in the Rajasthan Congress, party leaders seen as loyalists of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot comprise a majority in the list of elected and co-opted members headed for the AICC plenary session, which is scheduled to be held from February 24 to 26 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Apart from Sachin Pilot, there are only two other leaders belonging to his faction in the list – Murari Lal Meena, a Minister of State, who is among the elected members; and MLA Indraj Gurjar who is a co-opted member. While there are 55 elected members in the list, 20 are co-opted.
The list – which includes Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot – is another indicator of the CM’s complete hold on the state unit, despite having raised a banner of revolt against the high command five months ago.
Apart from Gehlot and Pilot, in the list as elected AICC members, the other prominent names are Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, Assembly Speaker C P Joshi, and ministers Lalchand Kataria, Bhajanlal Jatav, Pramod Jain Bhaya, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Shale Mohammad, Mamta Bhupesh, Tika Ram Jully, Ashok Chandna, Govind Ram Meghwal, Shakuntala Rawat and Rajendra Yadav.
The other notable Gehlot loyalists who will go for the plenary session are MLAs Rajkumar Sharma, Rajendra Singh, Rohit Bohra, Chetan Singh Choudhary, Danish Abrar and Ganesh Ghogra; as well as senior Congress leaders Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, Raghu Sharma and Punjab in-charge for the Congress Harish Choudhary.
There is some solace for Pilot, in that Cabinet ministers Mahesh Joshi and Shanti Dhariwal, plus RTDC chairman Dharmendra Rathore – the Gehlot loyalists served show-cause notices by the Congress high command over that September act of defiance – have not been included in the list.
Recently, Gehlot had accepted Joshi’s resignation as Congress chief whip in the Assembly.
Asked by reporters whether the resignation was a result of his alleged indiscipline during the September political crisis or because of the Congress’s policy of one person one post (as Joshi is also a minister), the Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said both the factors played a part in the decision.
Displaying the divisions within the Rajasthan Congress, Joshi had shot back saying he himself offered to step down as chief whip because he wanted to perform his duties as minister more diligently.
“I had tendered my resignation even before the budget. Whether this step is seen as acceptance of my resignation or the action of the high command, I am happy under both circumstances,” Joshi said.
In a swipe at the Pilot camp, he added that he was waiting for action against “those who tried to weaken the party and worked against the government”.
