Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge call out Congress MLAs in Rajasthan for indiscipline

Ajay Maken has refused to speak out on Ashok Gehlot’s role in the entire event.

Rajasthan State in-charge Ajay Maken, indicted the rebelling legislators who failed to show up for a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting on September 25, 2022 evening to pick Chief Minister Ashok Ghelot’s successor. Mr. Ghelot is slated to contest the Congress presidential polls.

Speaking to reporters before heading back to Delhi, Mr. Maken said that last evening after the MLAs refused to attend the CLP, he and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge who was sent as observers by the central leadership, reached out to them.

The agitating MLAs sent three persons as their emissary — Shanti Kumar Dhariwal, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Mahesh Joshi. “They insisted on a one-line resolution empowering the Congress President to take the final call on Rajasthan Chief Minister’s post. But in the resolution, they insisted that it should be clearly mentioned that it will be applicable only after October 19,” Mr. Maken said. This he said, was rejected because it was felt that this would lead to conflict of interest, since Mr. Gehlot who is a front runner for the president’s post, can not empower himself by sending in such a resolution.

“Second, they insisted that Mr. Gehlot’s successor should be picked from the 102 MLAs and not from the other group. To which we said that we will speak to each MLA on one-to-one basis. But they insisted that the MLAs would meet us in groups,” Mr. Maken said.

The meeting failed to break the deadlock. Though, past midnight, the 92 MLAs who were camping at Rajasthan Speaker CP Joshi’s residence left. It is not clear, whether they submitted their resignation letter or not. For now, Mr, Maken and Mr. Kharge are returning to Delhi. “We will be submitting our report to Congress president Sonia Gandhi,” he said. Mr. Maken has refused to speak out on Mr. Gehlot’s role in the entire event.

Though he did not shy away from indicting the agitating MLAs specially cabinet minister Mr. Dhariwal, in whose house, all the legislators were holed up in. “To organise a parallel meeting, when the party has called for a formal meeting, clearly amounts to indiscipline,” he said.