Gehlot welcomes Maken's appointment as Congress's Rajasthan in-charge

The Pilot camp has been seeking active participation in governance

PTI14-07-2020_000067A Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot | PTI

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday welcomed Congress president Sonia Gandhi's decision to appoint senior party leader Ajay Maken as the new general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan. Gandhi has also set up a three-member committee to resolve the issues raised by party rebels in the state.

Senior party leader Ahmed Patel, general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan Ajay Maken and general secretary organisation K.C. Venugopal have been made members of the panel.

"I welcome the decision of Sonia Gandhi ji to appoint Ajay Maken as AICC General Secretary in-charge of Rajasthan," Gehlot said in a tweet.

In another tweet, he said, "I congratulate Maken and hope that his vast organisational experience will help strengthen the party and energise party workers in the state. Eagerly looking forward to working with him."

Gehlot also thanked the outgoing national general secretary and state in-charge Avinash Pande for his support.

"My heartiest thanks to Avinash Pandey ji for his valuable support and guidance as the AICC in-charge of Rajasthan. His efforts to establish coordination between the party organisation and the govt have been highly commendable. I wish him all the best," he said.

The appointments come close on the heels of the Congress government in Rajasthan winning a crucial trust vote with the backing of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and and his loyalist MLAs, who had revolted against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot but later called a truce with the party after assurance by top party leadership.

An important part of the reconciliation plan was the Congress' announcement that a high-powered three-member committee would be formed to duly address the grievances of dissidents in a time-bound manner.

The Pilot camp has been seeking active participation in governance and flagging concerns over the "manner of functioning" of CM Gehlot. Pilot and other rebels welcomed the move and expressed hope that all their issues would be resolved.

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