Express News Service
JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s proposed visit to Delhi has intensified the buzz about changes in his government and the state Congress organisation. Gehlot will go to Delhi on October 16 to attend the Congress Working Committee meeting.
The long-pending cabinet reshuffle and political appointments are likely to be discussed. These are set to get the green signal when Gehlot meets Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Gehlot is not a member of the Congress Working Committee but CMs of Congress-ruled states have been attending these meetings. This will be Gehlot’s second visit to Delhi this year, after February 27.
After the change of CM in Punjab, the announcement of two Assembly by-elections in Rajasthan and the heated politics in UP over the Lakhimpur tragedy, discussion about changes in the government and organisation in Rajasthan Congress got delayed. Now, politics in the desert state is all set to heat up once again.
The Sachin Pilot camp has been demanding a cabinet reshuffle for a long time. Apart from the MLAs coming to Congress from BSP, MLAs of Gehlot’s camp also keep raising the demand for cabinet expansion and political appointments. State in-charge Ajay Maken has given deadlines. but neither cabinet reshuffle nor the work on political appointments and organisation expansion has progressed.
According to sources, Gehlot will discuss these with Sonia, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. He is also likely to meet senior leaders like KC Venugopal and Maken. The Working Committee meeting will discuss current political issues, Assembly elections and organisation elections, apart from other topics.
BJP leaders retaliate after Rajasthan CM calls them ‘fools’
JAIPUR: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot is once again in the headlines for making controversial remarks. Last year, he had called Sachin Pilot nikamma or useless character. Now, he has run into trouble for calling some state BJP leaders ‘fools’.
Taking objection to his statement, BJP leaders have started hitting back at Gehlot and Rahul Gandhi. State BJP president Satish Poonia tweeted in response to Gehlot’s remark, “Chief Minister has claimed that some people of Rajasthan BJP are fools. Please release the list of those idiots. From this, it is understood that you and Rahul Gandhi are the most intelligent people in the country and you should get a referendum done on this.”
This controversy erupted after the lynching of an SC youth in Hanumangarh district, over which BJP leaders have been attacking the Gehlot government. BJP leaders even connected the Hanumangarh issue with the Lakhimpur-Kheeri incident in Uttar Pradesh. BJP leaders said Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi are active in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh but not in Rajasthan