No senior leader in the party wanted to react to Ashok Gehlot's comment that he would stop the culture of girls and boys going hand in hand to pubs and malls. The party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed when asked said that he did not know in what context the statement had been made and he would first have to find out.
Pilot, who is involved in a power tussle with Gehlot, on Monday said paper leak incidents hurt the aspirations of the youth.
With no apparent wave on the ground or pressing everyday issues, that's what it boils down for voters as Rajasthan readies for assembly polls this week.
"Sanjay Jain has been arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) team of Rajasthan Police, under sections 124A and 120B of Indian Penal Code (IPC)," Police said.
Addressing party supporters during a protest rally in Jaipur against Bharatiya Janata Party, Gehlot said, "BJP at the Centre is involved in the conspiracy to topple democratically elected Rajasthan government. For the last one and half years, we have worked for farmers, we have effectively tackled coronavirus. I think BJP can not deal with it and hence they are conspiring to topple Congress-led Rajasthan government."
This is the first time both the leaders met after Pilot openly rebelled against Gehlot a month back.
In his remarks at the rallies, Pilot has cornered the Gehlot government over issues such as the repeated paper leaks and political appointments of retired bureaucrats while sidelining party workers.
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.
Legislator Ved Prakash Solanki, who is considered close to former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, also criticised Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for his recent remarks praising Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Vasundhara Raje, for helping him survive the 2020 revolt by some Congress MLAs.
The Congress MLAs who have been appointed advisers are Jitendra Singh, Rajkumar Sharma and Danish Abrar. Independent legislators Babu Lal Nagar, Sanyam Lodha and Ramkesh Meena have also been appointed advisers to Gehlot, according to a list released by the Chief Minister's Office.
Both the Rajasthan chief minister and the man who would like to be CM couldn't help grinning at Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal's Hindi, responding to a journalist's question about whether party President Mallikarjun Kharge had gotten Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot to smoke the peace pipe.
BTP legislators Rajkumar Roat and Ramprasad asserted that their party's president and other leaders have agreed on extending support to the Gehlot government on the condition that demands related to development of the state are fulfilled.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's speech in Dholpur reflects that his leader is Vasundhara Raje and not Sonia Gandhi, Sachin Pilot said in a no holds barred attack against his party colleague on Tuesday.
As he said this, he set the target of winning 156 seats in the assembly election due later this year.
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.
After Congress' observer to the state K C Venugopal made the announcement at a media briefing in New Delhi.
Mishra has sought clarification from the state government regarding the proposal of convening the Assembly session, said sources on Monday.
While Pilot, who declared a week ago that he was placing no conditions for returning to the government, reportedly doesn't want a berth for himself, he has sought places for his followers.
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.
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.
Sources said the party has also tasked its senior leaders to be observers at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Haryana to elect its new leader.
School students in Rajasthan will no longer study two-part supplementary textbooks with state Education Minister Madan Dilawar arguing that these reading materials are not required because they glorify the Nehru-Gandhi family and carry no marks for students.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Gehlot later told reporters that the Congress high-command will decide on the reshuffle and AICC general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maken has all the information about it.
The BJP hit back, saying Gehlot has failed to run the government and is frustrated and making unreasonable allegations.
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.
'Every Congressman in Rajasthan is in Ashok Gehlot's pocket.'
Babaria said he offered his resignation to the high command soon after the result of the Haryana assembly polls came out last week but no decision has been communicated to him over the matter.
Countrywide raids are being conducted in connection with a money laundering case linked to a fertiliser scam.
Sacked Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha had claimed that the red diary which he had secured from the residence of Congress leader Dharmendra Rathore during an income tax raid in July 2020 on the directions of the chief minister had details of Gehlot's financial transactions.
In an apparent attack on Gehlot, Pilot said one's upbringing should be such that he gives respect to others, adding that respect comes back when it is given.
According to the party leadership, it does not want to create a Punjab-like situation where it had been postponed till the last moment.
Amid internal rumblings in the Punjab and Chhattisgarh Congress, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said his government will complete its full five-year tenure.
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.
Dismissing the charges levelled against him by Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ashok Parnami as "baseless", former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav today dared him to come up with factual details.
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.
In an apparent reference to the return of Sachin Pilot and other rebel MLAs, the chief minister said that he told the MLAs on Tuesday night that they have to bear and work in the interest of people.
The coming weeks will be a tightrope walk for Gehlot who has 100 loyalists MLAs waiting to be rewarded on one side and the dissidents who wanted to be rehabilitated on the other, observes Prakash Bhandari.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will meet the Congress high command in New Delhi on Wednesday amid suspense over whether he will file nomination for the post of party president, sources in Jaipur said.
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