“There is always discipline in Parliament,” Ashok Gehlot told reporters.
New Delhi:
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in Delhi to meet Parliament Speaker Sonia Gandhi, spoke at length about party discipline, and denied that it was unsatisfactory at any time. What the media is reporting, he insists, are “small potatoes” and claims that “things happen”.
Three of Gehlot’s close aides were responsible for the massive rebellion in the party’s Rajasthan unit. Action against them was advised by party central observer Mallikarjun Kharge and state-in-charge Ajay Maken, before Sunday’s events.
Mr Maken has accused the rebels’ MLA of “indiscipline”. Action was advised against police chief Mahesh Joshi, RTDC president Dharmendra Pathak and minister Shanti Dhariwal, who chaired the MLA’s parallel meeting where they passed a resolution on the next Minister, to prevent blocking Mr. Gehlot’s arch-rival Sachin Pilot.
“There has always been discipline in Parliament,” Mr Gehlot told reporters, stressing it was the “tradition” of the party even today. “I’ve been following for 50 years. From the time of Indira Gandhi, then Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and now Sonia Gandhi,” he added.
ये हमारी पार्टी की परम्परा आज भी है, 50 साल से देख रहा हूँ, नबर वन जो होता कांग्रेस प्रेसिडेंट प्रेसिडेंट प्रेसिडेंट प्रेसिडेंट प्रेसिडेंट जी के से देख हूँ हूँ हूँ हूँ हूँ हूँ हूँ जी के देख रहा रहा हूँ हूँ नरसिम्हा राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव राव , pic.twitter.com/MrayXZDNyM
– Ashok Gehlot (@ashokehlot51) September 28, 2022
“What’s happened in the media are little potatoes, these things happen in domestic politics. They are’ghar ki baat’. The country is in danger. Writers and journalists are being jailed for treason. We all worry about inflation and dictatorship and that’s why Rahul Gandhi is in yatra,” Mr Gehlot told reporters.
Rajasthan’s political storm has engulfed the party’s internal elections, prompting Mr Gehlot to refuse to give up the top Rajasthan post over fears it could belong to Mr Pilot. Until Sunday’s rebellion, he was the frontrunner in the race for party leadership, elections due next month.
Mr. Gehlot has made it clear that he is ready to change both positions. But that possibility was denied by Rahul Gandhi with the explicit remark that the party would adhere to the “One Man One Post” policy. Mr. Gehlot returned and on Sunday went to a temple near the state’s border with Pakistan – a remote area with no mobile phone connection.
In the evening, 92 MLAs loyal to him skipped the scheduled Legislative Party meeting to choose Mr. Gehlot’s replacement. Attending a parallel meeting, they announced that a Minister should be chosen from among the government’s supporters during Mr. Pilot’s uprising in 2020. Then they went to the Speaker’s house, threatening from mass organizations if their requirements are not met.
The next day, in the face of Sonia Gandhi’s blatant and public defiance, they refused face-to-face meetings with the Central leaders she tasked with dealing with the situation, and made a series of demands.
Reaching Jaipur after the uprising was progressing well, Mr. Gehlot said he had no hand in it – a claim that the central leaders of the National Assembly have scoffed at. The Gandhis are said to be extremely upset with the public “humiliation” of the party and many have held that Mr Gehlot is responsible for this.
His visit to Delhi and scheduled discussions with Ms. Gandhi came after a section of Central leadership, including Ambika Soni and Anand Sharma, began negotiations with him to resolve the crisis. panic. It remains unclear whether Mr Gehlot will enter the race for party chairman.
