The Congress on Saturday named 22 more candidates for the Rajasthan assembly polls and denied ticket to Public Health Engineering Department Minister Mahesh Joshi from his Hawa Mahal constituency in Jaipur.
The Rajasthan assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution to create a legislative council in the state in order to provide "extensive" representation to the people. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal moved a resolution for the same in the assembly, which was passed by a majority of votes.
Rajasthan minister and key Gehlot-loyalist Shanti Dhariwal on Monday launched a frontal attack on Congress's state in-charge Ajay Maken, alleging that he was talking to party MLAs in a partisan manner and canvassing for Sachin Pilot.
The Rajasthan assembly was adjourned for an hour on Thursday following the ruckus by opposition members protesting against derogatory comments made by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal.
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.
Former Rajasthan minister Rajendra Singh Gudha claimed that Congress leaders dragged him out of the state assembly on Monday.
Gehlot's remark hinted at a possible thaw between the two senior Congress leaders after years of political tussle.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday sacked Rajendra Gudha as minister of state, hours after he cornered the state government in the assembly.
Ashok Gehlot has proved that a strong state leader can challenge the Congress high command.
Singh, a veteran Congress leader, was a member of the Upper House of Parliament from Assam for almost three decades.
On the other hand, another minister, Rajendra Singh Gudha, once again endorsed senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot's name for the chief minister's post.
It is the second Congress-ruled state after Punjab to pass such a resolution. The Rajasthan Assembly passed by voice vote the resolution which also asked the Centre to withdraw the new fields of information proposed to be included in National Population Register (NPR), 2020.
The Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs staged a walkout ahead of the voice vote.
"Whoever said all those words you mentioned, I did not respond in kind because it is not the way I am built and we now have to move on, let bygones be bygones, whatever was said, we need to forget and move forward. It is not about individuals or positions or someone's statements now. It is about the country and the party," Pilot said.
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.
Supporters of the two leaders are competing in Hadoti to highlight their dominance, which is visible from the hoardings in the region. This has also led to blame games between leaders of the two factions.
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.
Replying to the debate on the motion, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it again of trying to bring down his government.
Union minister files a case against Rajasthan officials, alleges that audio recordings of tapped phone conversations has tarnished his reputation and disturbed his mental peace.
Apart from the chief minister and deputy chief minister, 13 cabinet and 10 ministers of state were allocated portfolios.
The move comes after the Punjab assembly earlier this month adopted a resolution against the farm laws and unanimously passed four bills to counter the Centre's contentious legislations.
The 15 ministers were sworn in on Sunday for the expanded Gehlot cabinet, fulfilling a key demand of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot whose rebellion last year shook the state's Congress government.
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