Shanti Dhariwal, who had hosted the Gehlot loyalist MLAs at his residence, said their resignations were a result of “resentment and anger” among them.
While the All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s general secretary in charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maken has slammed the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot camp for having a parallel meeting while skipping the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meet in Jaipur and for stipulating conditions for the CLP resolution, over 90 Gehlot loyalist MLAs remained defiant Monday.
Upset over the Congress high command’s perceived inclination to hand over the chief ministership to Sachin Pilot without consulting them, the MLAs affiliated to Gehlot, the three-time CM who has declared his plan to contest the upcoming Congress presidential election, submitted their resignation to Speaker CP Joshi Sunday night, pushing the party and the state into a crisis.
Despite being attacked by Maken for indulging in “conflicts of interest” by demanding a conditional CLP resolution and for showing “indiscipline” by holding an unofficial meeting parallel to the CLP at Parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal’s residence, the Gehlot loyalist MLAs seemed to be unfazed, even as they stuck to their stance.