Sonia Gandhi seeks detailed report on Rajasthan crisis
New Delhi: Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi on Monday sought detailed report from state in charge Ajay Maken on the drama in party-ruled Rajasthan, where over 90 MLAs supporting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot have came out in open and have revolted against the party high command.
A meeting on Rajasthan was held at Gandhi’s 10, Janpath residence with Ajay Maken, senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary, Organisation, KC Venugopal present.
Both Maken and Kharge, who were in Jaipur on Sunday, briefed her about the sequence of events in the state.
“I have briefed Congress President… she has sought a detailed report which I will submit either today night or tommorow morning to her,” Maken told media persons after meeting Sonia Gandhi.
Maken, who was in Jaipur along with Kharge to convene the CLP meeting on Sunday for deciding the new CM face but instead faced a high-voltage drama, on Monday told the media that three members from the Gehlot camp had met them with three proposals, which they did not accept as it was clearly a conflict of interest.
Earlier, the two observers sent by the party high command, Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge, on Monday said that the MLAs’ action amounted to indiscipline.
The two observers are likely to return to Delhi on Monday afternoon.
The two said that what emerged from the Gehlot camp’s defiance ‘could be termed as indiscipline’.
“Yes, this is indiscipline, when one official meeting has been called and parallel to it another meeting is called, then it is termed as indiscipline… We will see what action will be taken against it,” said Maken, who is also Rajasthan in-charge of the Congress, to the mediapersons.
He further said, “No one knows how many MLAs were there (at Shanti Dhariwal or CP Joshi’s residence) and how many of them have tendered their resignations, but we will evaluate these facts later,” he said.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, which was called on Sunday at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s residence, was cancelled as more than 90 Congress MLAs loyal to Gehlot threatened to resign, while demanding that the new CM face be picked from their group.