BackGehlot urges MLAs to ‘forget and forgive’ as session draws near
Dismay of MLAs over return of rebel legislators is a cause for worry as the party tries to keep its flock together
PremiumNEW DELHI : Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said resentment among legislators was natural but it was important for them to “forget and forgive" and move on.
Gehlot’s statement came against the backdrop of a section of Congress members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) being upset over the return of dissident legislators led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.
The Congress is now brainstorming on ways to keep its flock together during the session that is to start on Friday. The party could cement its position in the assembly with the return of Pilot and the 18 other MLAs.
“Forget and forgive and move on. For the benefit of the state, its people and democracy we need to do it…. This is a fight to save democracy and we will continue to do it. Everyone should walk together. People of the state trusted us to form the government. It is our responsibility to maintain that trust," Gehlot said in Jaisalmer on Wednesday before heading to Jaipur.
“It is natural that they (the MLAs) will be upset…. But I have told them that we have to bear things for people of the state. Our friends who had left have returned and we are hopeful that we will work together for the good of the people," he said.
The developments are significant because even as the national leadership of the Congress is confident that a resolution has been found and the details would be worked out, that MLAs supporting Gehlot are upset is a cause for concern. The party is likely to take a call by Thursday on whether there should be a trust vote or if a simple passage of bills would suffice.
MLAs who have been backing Gehlot from the start of the political crisis were on Monday flown from Jaisalmer and shifted together to a resort on the outskirts of Jaipur to ensure that the group stays together.
Several of these MLAs, during a legislative party meeting on Tuesday night, asked why the party is allowing those who tried to topple the government are being reinstated.
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