With all eyes on the Congress's next step in Rajasthan after Sachin Pilot's fast in Jaipur on Tuesday, AICC in-charge of state Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Wednesday said he agrees with the issue of corruption taken up by Pilot but the manner in which it was raised was not right.
The Congress on Sunday demanded answers from the government on whether it has accepted third-party mediation on Kashmir after the United States made announcements on behalf of India and Pakistan, and slammed attempts to 'internationalise' the issue and 'hyphenate' the two countries.
A day after his expulsion from the Congress, Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Sunday said leaders like Sachin Pilot and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are being disrespected in the party where people need 'chamchagiri' (sycophancy) to survive.
In a major organisational rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday appointed Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Sachin Pilot was made the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
The crisis in Rajasthan Congress intensified with Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot at loggerheads, while Gehlot is blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party for trying to destabilise the state government by poaching MLAs, Pilot is camping in Delhi to speak to the party leadership regarding the political turmoil in the state.
The incident happened on Monday at a mass meeting held before the immersion of the ashes of Gurjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla in the Pushkar lake.
On Tuesday, the former minister also claimed that he wanted to table the diary in the assembly.
The BJP's nationwide vote share saw its steepest decline in Rajasthan, falling by 9.23% from 2019, resulting in the loss of 11 seats.
Rathore, however, said he was a "true soldier" of the Congress party and it was in the public domain who had damaged the party.
The Congress has projected unity to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly polls in Rajasthan but "core issues" between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot remain unresolved, according to sources close to Pilot.
A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said both Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot were "assets to the party", the CM on Tuesday suggested that the matter rests there.
BJP MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore alleged that the phone tapping of public representatives allegedly by CM Ashok Gehlot-led government has broken the trust of the people and extended an invite to all those with 'India first' ideology to join the BJP, fuelling speculations of Sachin Pilot joining the ruling party at the Centre.
With the Rajasthan cabinet reshuffle scheduled for later in the day, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday expressed his satisfaction over the move and stated that the inclusion of four Dalit ministers in the cabinet has sent out a positive message about the party and the state government.
Amid his power tussle with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Pilot has announced that he will be among the people and Congress workers in various districts of Rajasthan between January 16 and 20.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who faced trolling on social media in the wake of India and Pakistan reaching an understanding on May 10 to halt all military actions, has received support from veteran diplomat Nirupama Menon Rao, a body of Indian diplomats and a host of politicians from several parties.
'These are lies that Priyanka Gandhi rung up Sachin Pilot.'
Refuting allegations of divisions in the Congress in Rajasthan, Corporate Affairs Minister and Member of Parliament from Ajmer, Sachin Pilot, speaks to Kavita Chowdhury on a range of issues, including the Congress's prospects in the coming Rajasthan Assembly polls.
Lokesh Sharma, the former OSD of Rajasthan's ex-chief minister Ashok Gehlot, has turned approver in a phone tapping case that happened during the political crisis in the state in 2020. Sharma was accused of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations. He has alleged that Gehlot was involved in tapping of phones and gave evidence to support his claim. Sharma claims that he was directed by Gehlot to circulate recordings of phone calls to the media.
Former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who has been involved in a leadership tussle with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, skipped his interaction.
Pilot said he is not backing down from the stand he has taken against the state Congress government saying he is "politely requesting" it to take action in corruption cases from the previous dispensation.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday expressed happiness that the Congress party has taken cognisance of the issues raised by him about welfare of youth and corruption under the previous Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan, and asserted the party will contest the assembly polls unitedly to secure a massive victory.
After chairing an emergency meeting with senior officials to discuss the situation, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that heli services on the Char Dham route will remain suspended for two days, as the weather is bad and the safety of the passengers is the government's top priority.
' These youngsters don't have patience, which is a key trait in politics'
The media is under the pressure of the central government but they should see the interest of the public, Gehlot told reporters.
Sachin Pilot also changed his profile on Twitter
Top Congress leadership led by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held marathon discussions with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot joined them later in the evening.
'It's a tremendous accomplishment to have a father like Amitabh Bachchan and still be so sorted, to not taste the kind of success that he should have and yet be so balanced.'
24 hours before campaigning ends in Thiruvanathapuram, Archana Masih/Rediff.com discovers Shashi Tharoor and his BJP rival Rajeev Chandrasekhar are busy getting their message across to voters.
In Karnataka, the BJP lost the elections because of multiple poles of power, a problem the central leadership could not sort out in time. Could the same happen to the Congress in Rajasthan? asks Aditi Phadnis.
The Congress refrained from commenting on any peace formula between Gehlot and Pilot.
Two ministers who raised the banner of revolt with former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot during the political crisis also find their names in the list.
Pilot, who is also the president of the state unit of the party, on Tuesday night claimed he has the support of 30 MLAs and the Gehlot government is now in minority.
He also said Pilot should have raised his demand for action in cases of alleged corruption by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government during a debate in the Rajasthan assembly, instead of holding a day-long fast on the issue.
Pilot said the Congress was reduced to 21 seats in the 2013 assembly elections, but the people gave it a mandate in the 2018 elections.
It is believed that Gehlot allegedly likened Pilot to coronavirus.
The Ashok Gehlot camp has been saying that they enjoyed the support of 109 MLAs, a claim contested by the Pilot loyalists. In the run-up to the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Jaipur on Tuesday, Pilot loyalist Ramesh Meena said, "A floor test should be conducted in the assembly. This will expose the claim that the Ashok Gehlot government has the support of 109 MLAs."
Pilot said Gehlot has been calling him 'nikamma, naakara, gaddar and so on' but it was not part of his upbringing to use such language.
'These frequent visits show the BJP fears that the Congress will retain power.'
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.
He said Gehlot could tell how he got the call recordings and whether the call interceptions were done legally or not.
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