The development occurred amid a spat between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s supporters and his opponent Sachin Pilot.
According to reports, the Congress urged its MLAs in Rajasthan on Thursday to avoid from making public statements against other politicians or discussing internal party problems.
If the advise is disobeyed, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal has warned that harsh disciplinary action will be taken under the party’s Constitution.
The warning came amid a spat between supporters of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his opponent Sachin Pilot. According to sources, Gehlot supporters have frequently dubbed MLAs in the Pilot camp “traitors” in various press conferences.
The Congress government in Rajasthan was in disarray on Sunday, just hours after Gehlot intimated that he would resign as chief minister to run for the party’s presidential nomination.
Several Congress MLAs boycotted a meeting called in Jaipur to endorse a resolution authorising the party president to choose Gehlot’s successor soon after Gehlot’s statement. Instead, they travelled to the home of Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi to tender their resignation, amid rumours that Pilot will be named as the state’s next chief minister.
According to Gehlot supporters, about 90 parliamentarians have tendered their resignation to the Speaker, who has yet to make a decision on them.
The legislators have urged that the new Rajasthan chief minister be picked from the pool of MLAs who held the government afloat when Pilot mounted a mutiny against the Congress in August 2020, causing a political crisis. The Congress has issued show cause notices to three of Gehlot’s close associates in connection with the party’s Rajasthan unit mutiny.
Gehlot announced his withdrawal from the Congress presidential race on Thursday and accepted moral responsibility for the political situation in Rajasthan.
“The tragedy on Sunday rocked all of us,” Gehlot remarked following a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
“A message went out across the country that I wanted to stay as chief minister, and that’s why [all of this] happened,” he explained. “I apologised to Gandhi…I’m sorry.”
When asked if he will continue as chief minister of Rajasthan, Gehlot stated that the decision would be made only by the Congress president.
Sachin Pilot meets Sonia Gandhi
Meanwhile, Pilot arrived at the Congress president’s bungalow many hours after Gehlot and Gandhi met.
“I had a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi.” “She listened to me quietly,” Pilot said after the meeting. “The events in Rajasthan were thoroughly explored.”
He stated that the party’s leaders must work together to win the Rajasthan Assembly elections in 2023.
“I am optimistic that with our hard effort, we will once again form a Congress administration in the next 12-13 months,” Pilot remarked. “We reviewed our plan with AICC [All India Congress Committee] leaders and the Congress president in detail.”
