The development comes days after Gehlot appeared to make a conciliatory move, saying that he would welcome back the rebel Congress MLAs if the party leadership “forgives them”.
Days ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly session, where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is likely to seek a trust vote, Sachin Pilot met Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in New Delhi on Monday. The meeting fuelled speculation of a thaw in ties between the Congress high command and Pilot, whose rebellion with 18 MLAs loyal to him has left the Gehlot government teetering on the edge.
The development comes days after Gehlot appeared to make a conciliatory move, saying that he would welcome back the rebel Congress MLAs if the party leadership “forgives them”.
Moreover, the Gehlot government also withdrew the sedition charge from three FIRs lodged by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police in connection with the alleged attempt to topple his government. A key grouse of Pilot that triggered the rebellion was the FIRs being filed by SOG under the sedition charge.
Following the rebellion by Pilot, Congress removed him as deputy chief minister and state PCC chief. The party also cracked the whip on Pilot’s loyalists: Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were removed from the state cabinet, and the state presidents of the Youth Congress and Seva Dal were replaced. The decision was announced after Pilot and his MLAs skipped two consecutive Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meetings in Jaipur last month.
On Sunday, CM Gehlot asked party legislators to show their unity on the floor of the House. Addressing a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting at a resort in Jaisalmer, he said, “We are all democracy warriors. We are going to win this war and also win the (assembly) election after three-and-a-half years.”
“The unity which you have shown till now, the same unity you have to show in the House,” Gehlot said.
Source: The Indian Express
