Days after a crisis erupted in Rajasthan Congress, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot met food and civil supplies minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas at the latter's residence in Jaipur on Monday night.
Rahul Gandhi is marching with a positive thought, it is a positive yatra. There is no violence, no hatred. If you are not showing this yatra, you are not fulfilling your dut
It is believed that Gehlot allegedly likened Pilot to coronavirus.
Nomination forms for the post of Congress president poll have been collected by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and All India Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer Pawan Bansal, but Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has not done so yet, the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said on Tuesday.
The political drama in Rajasthan over leadership change continued on Monday with MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot remaining non-committal on holding a meeting with Congress observers, who are likely to return to Delhi to apprise the high command about the developments.
He also said his equation with the Gandhi family will remain the same as it has been for the last 50 years.
"There was 90 percent blockage in one of his coronary arteries and one stent was placed successfully. He is absolutely fine," Dr Sudhir Bhandari, principal of the SMS medical college, told reporters.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress top leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday condoled the Bengaluru stampede deaths and the Bharatiya Janata Party asked the Congress government to own up responsibility for what it called the 'state-sponsored negligence'.
Kanugolu had also made forays in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh following a directive from the party's central leadership but regional satraps Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath reportedly were not on the same page as the poll strategist.
The development suggested a worsening power struggle between the chief minister and Sachin Pilot who was tipped to be Gehlot's replacement after he declared his candidature for the Congress president's post.
The party is very much united and working together, the AICC general secretary organisation said.
Speaking at a public function at Mangarh Dham in Rajasthan's Banswara, Gehlot said India has scripted history in the world as democracy in alive in the country even after more than 70 years since it achieved independence.
Addressing a kisan sammelan in Jhunjhunu, Pilot also targeted the government over the political appointments of retired bureaucrats instead of party workers.
Supporters of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot on Thursday got into a scuffle with each other ahead of a feedback meeting with the party workers in Ajmer, the police said.
Rajasthan Police personnel in several districts of the state boycotted Holi celebrations on Saturday to protest their demands, including promotions and removal of salary discrepancies. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged the current Chief Minister to intervene and address the police personnel's grievances, while Cabinet Minister Kirodi Lal Meena expressed support for their demands and promised to raise the issue with the government. The police personnel are calling for timely Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) meetings, an increase in mess allowance, and other benefits. The boycott highlights the ongoing concerns of police personnel regarding their professional development and financial well-being.
Upset over an open rebellion in Rajasthan, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday sought a written report on it from party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken as the chances of Ashok Gehlot becoming the party chief receded and other names cropped up for the post.
Senior party leaders stressed that no one except the Gandhi family can hold the party together, the party will disintegrate and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should be given command after 2024.
Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the proposed scheme would be a game-changer as it will provide comprehensive health coverage to families, covering medical expenses for critical illnesses, hospitalisations, and treatments.
Gehlot expressed his sadness over the turn of affairs in the state.
Gehlot's meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi led to the buzz that the two may have discussed the possibility of him being the next party president.
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A day after Rajasthan sports minister asked to be relieved from his post over the conduct of the CM's principal secretary, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said Ashok Chandna's tweet should not be taken seriously as he might be under pressure due to the workload.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the premises of Rajasthan Congress leader and former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Punjab AAP MLA Kulwant Singh as part of a money laundering probe linked to the Rs 48,000-crore PACL Ponzi scam. Khachariyawas, who served as a minister in the Ashok Gehlot government, claimed the ED action was politically motivated due to his criticism of the government. Singh, a real estate promoter, is reported to be Punjab's richest MLA with assets worth Rs 1,000 crore. The ED has been investigating the PACL scam since 2015, alleging that the company defrauded investors of Rs 48,000 crore through fraudulent investment schemes.
Pilot said rules and discipline of the party apply to all, adding that he hoped Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge would take a decision in the matter soon.
Singh met the party MP from Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday after collecting nomination papers for the polls.
Ramesh also said the Congress leadership is considering a proper solution to the Rajasthan issue.
Asked whether it was an effort at unity, he said this is not an attempt but a reality. "We are one."
A Pilot camp MLA said that the former deputy chief minister is raising the issue of corruption in the public interest.
Rajendra Gudha, Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Lakhan Meena, (Bahujan Samaj Party turned Congress MLAs), Girraj Singh Malinga and Khiladi Lal Bairwa met Gehlot, the sources said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot loyalist and state cabinet Minister Pratap Khachariyawas on Monday said that the Congress workers are attempting to save their party and have to be prepared to "spill blood on the roads" against the Bharatiya Janata Party which, he alleged, wants to "topple" the state government.
Shakur Khan was detained on Wednesday night by an intelligence department team who were acting on security-related inputs.
However, Gehlot, said he will make one last-ditch effort to convince Rahul to take up the party president's post.
Pilot threatened to launch a massive movement in Rajasthan if action on his demands is not taken.
Gehlot told Congress MLAs that they will be asked to come to New Delhi if he decides to file his nomination.
Several MLAs loyal to Gehlot, who was seen as the frontrunner for the post of Congress national president, had last week submitted resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Pilot as the next chief minister.
Rathore, however, said he was a "true soldier" of the Congress party and it was in the public domain who had damaged the party.
Sources said the leadership of the government going forward, if Gehlot is elected as party chief, is likely to be on the meeting agenda.
The Congress party in India has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being "anti-Dalit" after a BJP leader sprinkled Ganga water at a Ram temple in Rajasthan to "purify" it following the visit of a Dalit Congress leader. The incident has sparked outrage among the Congress, with party leaders calling it an insult to Dalits and a reflection of the BJP's alleged casteist ideology.
On Monday, Shashi Tharoor met Sonia Gandhi and expressed his intention to contest the upcoming AICC chief polls.
Some of them have also endorsed Sachin Pilot as chief minister. However, they added that whatever decision the party high command takes in this regard, they will accept it.
