Mallikarjun Kharge has the stature, maturity and gravitas to lead a national party like the Congress with its rich history of struggle and myriad achievements, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
The Congress claims the Ashok Gehlot government has the numbers to prove majority in case there is a floor test.
"Where did we make any statement against the party? We wanted to draw the attention of the party high-command to the fact that we were not able to deliver on things promised in the manifesto for which the public elected us," Vishvendra Singh said in a video message.
Pilot and his supporters claimed to have the backing of 30 Congress MLAs and some independents.
Govind Singh Dotasra, Harish Chaudhary and Raghu Sharma have already offered their resignations in writing to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday.
Amid the ongoing political turmoil in the Congress in Rajasthan, the party's chief whip in the state, Mahesh Joshi, on Tuesday said a meeting of the MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was not called to mount pressure on the party high command.
The meeting is expected to start at 11 am at the hotel on the city outskirts where Congress legislators in support of the Ashok Gehlot government are camping.
'When the Congress attacked Modiji, Vasundharaji kept mum.' 'Why was she so tongue-tied?' 'Everybody knows why she kept quiet then.'
"If anybody with a mass base joins the BJP or any political party, everybody welcomes him. Expressing trust in our ideology, if anybody joins us we will welcome him with open arms. This is a normal procedure," Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told reporters in New Delhi.
Top Congress sources said the meeting took place a little after noon at Rahul Gandhi's residence and a 'positive outcome' was expected.
'Nobody understands Gehlot's politics.' 'The Congress high command should wake up.'
This is the first time both the leaders met after Pilot openly rebelled against Gehlot a month back.
According to party sources, the Congress Legislature Party meeting lasted for about an hour and a half.
Kumar, a resident of Bhagwan village in Hanumangarh, worked as a manger with Ellaqui Dehati Bank at Areh Mohanpora branch in the south Kashmir district.
While the two MLAs will abstain in the event of a trust vote in the assembly, it is, however, not a withdrawal of support.
'The Congress today has lost contact with the Hindu clergy.' 'They go to to Hindu clergy only during the time of elections.'
While they shouted slogans praising Pilot, another group protested against Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma. The two groups were dispersed after the brief demonstrations. Police denied reports that they had to resort to a lathi-charge.
The development comes after Congress cracked down on Sachin Pilot, stripping the dissident leader of the posts of Rajasthan's deputy chief minister and the party's state unit president, and sacking two loyalists from the state Cabinet.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Sachin Pilot's ejection as Rajasthan deputy chief minister.
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.
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.
After the meeting, Kharge said that there should be discipline in the party and the party has to be kept united.
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.
'Anybody is free and welcome to contest in the election if they have the backing of 10 PCC delegates'
A message on Pilot's official WhatsApp group said Tuesday night that he has served Malinga a legal notice for 'the false and malicious statement' he made to the press.
Beniwal, a former BJP leader and Raje-baiter for a long time, claimed that there is an "internal understanding" between her and incumbent Chief Minister Gehlot.
A day after a group of Congress MLAs met Sachin Pilot, another party legislator on Friday expressed support for the dissident leader as trouble brewed again in Rajasthan's ruling party.
To chart the Congress's future course, its chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday formed three groups -- on political affairs for guidance on key issues, task force-2024 to implement the Udaipur 'Nav Sankalp' declaration, and another to coordinate the October 2 'harat Jodo Yatra.
Other Congress leaders who are learnt to have spoken with Pilot are Ahmed Patel, P Chidambaram and K C Venugopal.
A day after the Congress said the 'doors are open' for Pilot and gave him a second chance, the party virtually closed them for him on Tuesday, sacking him as Rajasthan deputy chief minister and state party chief, three days after he mounted a rebellion against his state chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
The grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
Sharma will have to report before the investigating officer at 11 am.
On Monday, when Rahul Gandhi missed the party's 136th Foundation Day celebration event as he is travelling abroad to see his grandmother, and Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi couldn't attend the event due Covid-19 pandemic, Priyanka Gandhi took charge.
State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra, who along with two other ministers had offered to resign in a letter to party's national president Sonia Gandhi, had moved a proposal in this regard at the beginning of the meeting following which all ministers resigned.
Davinder alias Kala was nabbed on Sunday evening from Haryana's Fatehabad.
'Unfortunately, some ill-informed's would rather take swipes at Dr Manmohan Singh-led UPA govt than fight NDA/BJP'
While withdrawing the plea, Sibal told the bench that the appeal had become infructuous as the apex court did not stay the earlier high court order passed on July 21 asking the Speaker to defer disqualification proceedings.
'These three wrestlers (Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik) are indirectly or directly part of the Congress.'
The Congress in Rajasthan plunged into a crisis on Sunday as several MLAs loyal to Ashok Gehlot submitted resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Sachin Pilot as the next chief minister, their rebellion erupting just ahead of a Congress Legislature Party meeting.
"This time we want to prepare the organisation very strongly. The workers should get respect, everyone's participation is important, there should be balance in power, and we should move forward taking all sections of the society along," Pilot told reporters after hour-long meeting with Sonia Gandhi.
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