Gehlot’s Rajasthan government under threat as internal rebellion rises
- Sachin Pilot on late Sunday evening declared that he has support of 30 Congress MLAs and some independents
- Senior BJP leaders said Congress leaders should keep their house in order rather than blaming the BJP
NEW DELHI: The Rajasthan government under chief minister (CM) Ashok Gehlot is under threat with a rebellion by some Congress leaders brewing in the state.
The turf war between Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot is out in the open as some members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) are in Delhi to meet the central leadership of the party over concerns about the state government.
The developments in Rajasthan have come against the backdrop of the special operations group (SOG) of the state police arresting two persons and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filing a preliminary enquiry against three independent MLAs for alleged attempts to bribe Congress MLAs ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls last month with an intent to destabilize the government.
The national leadership of the Congress, led by party president Sonia Gandhi, has stepped in to resolve the situation by sending observers—senior leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Ajay Maken, besides party general secretary in-charge Avinash Pande—to the state to take stock of the situation. Gehlot is expected to hold a meeting of party legislators and ministers late on Sunday evening in an apparent show of strength.
A meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) called by Gehlot may take place on Monday morning.
The government is taking all measures to deal with any threat. On Sunday, the CM held a series of meetings where several MLAs met him in person and were briefed about the situation.
A section of Congress leaders, backed by Gehlot, have blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the rebellion. However, senior BJP leaders said Pilot and Gehlot have been at loggerheads for long and the Congress should keep its house in order rather than blaming the BJP.
“It is very clear that a section of Congress MLAs along with some prominent leaders are annoyed with Gehlot and his government. It is an internal problem of the Congress and the BJP should not be blamed. We are watching the situation,” said a senior BJP leader based in Jaipur.
The Congress has maintained that the government is not under threat. “All Congress MLAs are in touch with me and the government in Rajasthan is stable and will last its full term,” Pande, told PTI. “I have not talked to Pilot for the last two days and I’m trying to reach out to him. I have left messages for him.”
A section of Congress leaders said Pilot had been unhappy as he was gradually eased out from key decision-making processes, but the immediate trigger could be his post as the state unit chief, which is being contented by the Gehlot faction. “We had meetings with Gehlot through the day. There are 15-16 MLAs who are not in touch with the chief minister’s office. A lot will depend on the manner in which the central leadership steps in,” a senior member of Gehlot’s cabinet said, requesting anonymity.
Such differences of opinion between the two leaders have existed for a while, but a lot will now depend on what course of action is taken by the senior leadership, including former party president Rahul Gandhi, under whose tenure the Rajasthan government was formed in 2018, said another party leader.
According to a news report by Press Trust of India, Pilot on late Sunday evening declared that he has support of 30 Congress MLAs and some independents. Claiming that the Gehlot led government was in minority, the news report quoted a statement released on Pilot's WhatsApp group, which said: “Rajasthan Deputy CM and Congress leader Sachin Pilot not to attend Congress Legislative Party meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow."
The development is significant because if indeed 30 MLAs break away from the ruling Congress in the state then the current Gehlot led government will no longer have the majority. Congress alone has 107 members in the 200 seat state assembly and draws support from smaller parties and independents.
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First Published:12 Jul 2020, 11:22 PM IST
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