Rajasthan Parliament Crisis: From Ashok Gehlot, Apology and Failed to Pay the President: 10 Facts
Ashok Gehlot arrived in Delhi last night to have a meeting with the Speaker of Parliament.
New Delhi:
Ashok Gehlot today apologized to Sonia Gandhi and said he will not run for the presidency of the National Assembly, taking “moral responsibility” for the rebellion in Rajasthan by MLAs loyal to him. He also said it was up to Sonia Gandhi whether he would remain a Minister or not.
Here are the top 10 developments of this big story
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With his refusal apology, Ashok Gehlot managed to keep his position as Chief Minister of Rajasthan despite a major, embarrassing uprising that would not have been possible without his support. More than 90 MLAs have threatened mass resignations over reports that if Mr Gehlot runs for parliament speaker, he will be replaced by his rival, Pilot Sachin in Rajasthan.
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Ashok Gehlot dropping out of the race means that a third candidate for the presidency of the National Assembly, blessed by the Gandhis, could soon be named. Nominations close tomorrow for the first Parliamentary elections in more than two decades with non-Gandhi candidates.
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So far, it looks like a contest between Digvijaya Singh and Shashi Tharoor in the October 17 election. Both will submit nominations tomorrow.
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Digvijaya Singh met Shashi Tharoor after announcing his decision to enter the contest. Sharing a picture of the two embracing, Mr. Tharoor tweeted: “I welcome his candidacy for the post of Chairman of our Party. We both agree that our fight is not a battle. It’s a battle between opponents but a friendly competition between colleagues. All we want is who wins, Congress wins!”
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Ashok Gehlot was considered the first choice of the Gandhis for the position of president of the National Assembly, until the uprising of the Rajasthan MLA Parliament loyal to him ruined his chances. The MLA said it would not accept Pilot Sachin, who rebelled against Mr Gehlot in 2020, as his replacement.
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The MLA set the conditions before two central leaders, Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge, who described the uprising as “grossly undisciplined” in their report to Sonia Gandhi. Three ministers close to Mr Gehlot were asked to explain their role in designing the uprising within 10 days.
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Mr Gehlot alleges a “motivated attempt to brand him a rebel” following the example of “BJP and certain vested interests”.
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Parliament wants Mr. Gehlot to resign as Rajasthan Minister before running for Speaker of Parliament. He was also asked that he respect the leadership’s choice of who will replace him in Rajasthan.
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Mr. Gehlot wants to keep his Rajasthan job even while running for party chief. Last week, Rahul Gandhi made it clear that was not possible as the party would stick to its “one man one thing to another” determination.
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Sonia Gandhi is also likely to meet Sachin Pilot, whose wait time for Rajasthan’s top job has been further extended.
