From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Congress is in no hurry on the issue of the leadership issue in Rajasthan, not at least until the next Sunday as party president Mallikarjun Kharge is going to home state Karnataka in connection with the ongoing Assembly elections.
In the intervening three days, he has ordered opening of the files of indiscipline by both Gehlot and Pilot to confront them on how they are harming the party. The chief minister last September sabotaged a meeting of the party MLAs convened for the change of leadership as also a similar indiscipline by Pilot in 2020 and again early this week.
On Thursday, Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa met senior party leader Rahul Gandhi on the Rajasthan issue, two days after Sachin observed a silent fast in Jaipur.
Both the leaders later called on Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence. Kharge advised Randhawa to dig out files of both Gehlot and Pilot as he recalled the insult he faced when Gehlot engineered a revolt against the party leadership that had called a meeting of the party MLAs in September last year.
The party sources said Kharge treated at equal footing both the revolt of the chief minister last September and Pilot’s revolt twice, first in 2020 and again on Monday despite being advised by Randhawa to give up the fast and better come to Delhi for discussions instead of the public posturing against own party’s government. He wants the party leaders to open files of both Gehlot and Pilot and examine how they have damaged the party.
Sources said the Congress leaders want both Gehlot and Sachin Pilot work together and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath was on Thursday activated to bring them together. Kamal Nath had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday and both Gandhis agreed with his advice not to send Randhawa but call both Gehlot and Pilot to Delhi to find a solution.
Randhawa has met Congress President Kharge, twice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he has refrained from submitting any file on Rajasthan. He may summon Pilot to Delhi in a day or two and then also call Gehlot for holding a joint meeting.
