For practically six months now, the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) is functioning solely with one office-bearer, its president Govind Singh Dotasra.
Dotasra — additionally the state’s Education Minister — was appointed as state unit’s president in July 2020 after the social gathering eliminated former deputy chief minister after which state unit chief Sachin Pilot from his posts. At the time, the social gathering had additionally dissolved the state govt, and different departments and cells on the time.
The opposition BJP has cited these vacant posts and the delay in constituting a recent state govt to assert the tussle between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot is way from over, opposite to the official Congress management’s official stand — Party brass brokered a truce between the 2 in August final 12 months, which ended the month-long political disaster within the state.
The ruling social gathering nonetheless, maintains {that a} recent state govt will probably be introduced “very soon”.
In July 2020, after Pilot camped along with his 18 loyalist MLAs in Haryana and Delhi the Congress and had additionally skipped Congress legislature social gathering (CLP) conferences, the social gathering had moved its MLAs to resorts and had changed Pilot with Dotasra because the RPCC president. Even after the truce with Pilot in August, the social gathering has not made any appointments. The majority of state commissions and boards are additionally functioning with none heads, with political appointments to those posts pending since greater than two years.
“Even though the Congress says it is a democratic party it can never come out of its dynastic, casteist and appeasement politics. The fact that their organisational structure couldn’t be formed since the past several months reveals that the power struggle in the party is still going on. The public of Rajasthan is paying the price because of their tussle,” mentioned BJP MLA from Chomu and chief spokesperson of the social gathering’s state unit, Ramlal Sharma.
Congress MLA and authorities chief whip within the Rajasthan Assembly, Mahesh Joshi advised The Indian Express that the state govt of the Congress is anticipated to be shaped very quickly — seemingly inside the week. “The BJP has a habit of raising useless questions and trying to make issues out of non-issues. The state executive of the Congress is the concern of Congress leaders, high command and workers and not the BJP. The state executive is expected to be constituted very soon, possibly in the current week. The BJP should first answer why it took a long time to come up with its own executive,” mentioned Joshi.
However, a senior Congress chief who didn’t wish to be named attributed the delay in appointments to factions within the social gathering. “In the past six months, a consensus couldn’t be reached on appointments in state executive and other office bearers primarily because of the disagreement between the Gehlot and Pilot factions — both want plum posts for their loyalists. This is one of those rare instances when the state executive hasn’t been formed for such a long time,” mentioned the chief.
According to the chief, posts of at the least 8 basic secretaries, 8 vice presidents and 24 secretaries stay vacant within the RPCC.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday from the sidelines of a dharna in Jaipur, Pilot had mentioned that reconsitution of the RPCC and the political appointments needs to be carried out inside two months. He had additionally mentioned that those that had helped the Congress come into energy within the state needs to be included as stakeholders within the authorities.
Another Congres chief mentioned the appointments to state commissions and boards are anticipated to be carried out after the state govt is shaped. “Many MLAs are also eyeing political appointments and the government is expected to oblige them, because at the moment, the Gehlot faction is keen on keeping their MLAs satisfied so that there is no danger to the stability of the government.”
In 2018, when the BJP was in energy within the state and Vasundhara Raje was the chief minister, the put up of the state BJP chief had remained vacant for practically two months as a result of Raje was against the appointment of Gajendra Singh Shekhawat — now Union Jal Shakti Minister.
However, current chief of Opposition within the Assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria, mentioned the scenario was totally different. “Even for that short time when we didn’t have a president, rest of the organisational structure was intact. But the entire organisational structure of the Congress is missing right now,” mentioned Kataria.
“Despite their (Congress) accusations that we are trying to break the government, the truth is that due to their own lack of coordination, they will break. I feel that it is very difficult for this government to last for five years. We take collective decisions,” Kataria added.
“When the present state Congress president was appointed, it was at such a time when the Congress was divided in two factions. After the attempted truce, assurances were given. But now, it seems they are not being followed. It is because of this that their organisational structure is left in tatters. The fact that even the organisational structure couldn’t be formed, shows that the differences between the Chief Minister and Sachin Pilot are still there,” he reiterated.
