Congress weighing options after three Gehlot aides ignore show cause notices

The crisis in Rajasthan Congress may have died down but the party is not likely to ignore or forget the glowing embers of rebellion in its cadres. As three key leaders in Rajasthan have failed to reply to show cause notices, the party is mulling strong action, reports ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: The AICC disciplinary committee is mulling appropriate action in the Rajasthan rebellion matter as three close aides of chief minister Ashok Gehlot have failed to reply to show cause notices by Thursday.

The three leaders, including parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal, chief whip in the assembly Mahesh Joshi and state tourism development corporation chairman Dharmendra Rathore, were issued show cause notices over “grave indiscipline” when they led a revolt staged by over 90 MLAs loyal to the chief minister over the change of guard in the state.

The AICC disciplinary committee headed by AK Antony had sent the notices on September 27 and had asked them to submit replies within 10 days, which ended on Thursday. “The 10-day period has ended. The committee is seized of the matter and will take appropriate decisions in the matter,” a senior AICC functionary said on condition of anonymity.

The MLAs loyal to Gehlot had revolted on September 25 at Jaipur when they expressed their anger over the suggestion made by AICC observer Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC in charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maken to pass a one-line resolution authorising the Congress president to decide who will be the chief minister.

The Gehlot camp feared that the chief minister who had been asked by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to become the next party chief would be replaced by his arch-rival Sachin Pilot. The rebel lawmakers refused to attend an informal meeting of the CLP convened by Kharge and instead held a parallel conclave where they argued that if Gehlot had to be removed one of their own should become the next chief minister.

The lawmakers alleged that Pilot had led a coup in 2020 to destabilise the Gehlot government at the behest of the BJP and, as such, he should not be given the top executive post ahead of the 2023 assembly polls. After his three aides were served show cause notices, Gehlot apologised to Sonia Gandhi for failing to get the desired resolution passed and withdrew from the presidential race.

A few days ago, Gehlot had defended the MLAs saying they had stood by him in the past and therefore it was important for him to back them. Gehlot’s exit led to the entry of Kharge who is now pitted against Shashi Tharoor in the polls for the next Congress president. The voting will take place on October 17. The results would be out on October 19.

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal had announced on September 27 that Sonia will decide whether Gehlot would be replaced or not in two days but the party later deferred the decision till the presidential polls were over to avoid creating an unnecessary controversy.

For the same reason, the three Gehlot aides may be given a few more days to submit their replies given that it may not have been possible due to the Navrarti and Dushehra festivals in between, the sources said. Any decision taken in haste could impact the party’s prospects in the next year’s assembly polls, the sources added.