The internal differences in the Congress party in Rajasthan appear to be surfacing yet again in the midst of a raging pandemic, with one MLA belonging to the Sachin Pilot camp resigning from the Assembly and another legislator threatening to quit.
Hemaram Choudhary, a veteran leader and a six-time MLA, sent in his resignation to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi on Tuesday. The 73-year-old leader is learnt to be close to Pilot and was among the 19 Congress MLAs who had along with the former deputy chief minister rebelled against Gehlot last year.
Choudhary, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the Gehlot government, is learnt to be upset over being sidelined in state politics. It is believed that Choudhary had been disappointed over not being made a minister in the Gehlot government.
After Choudhary's resignation, other voices of discontent are now getting louder. Congress MLA from Chaksu, Ved Prakash Solanki has threatened to resign if the grievances of his workers are not heard and demands for works in his constituency are not met.
A major grievance being aired is that the bureaucracy in the state is dominating the affairs and the MLAs or their supporters are not able to get their issues across to the government and get work done in their areas.
While Choudhary has so far refused to elaborate on the reasons for his decision to resign, Solanki said, “Bureaucracy is definitely dominating the affairs of the government. In such a situation, we are finding it difficult to get works for our constituencies done or the grievances of our workers dealt with.”
There is a growing feeling in the Pilot camp that the assurances given to them when peace was brokered between Pilot and Gehlot have not been fulfilled and that they continue to be on the sidelines. It is felt that their grievances have not been addressed and they have not found adequate rehabilitation in the power dynamics.
