Summary:
Jaipur, Oct 2 (PTI) In a veiled attack on Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said it should be looked into as to why there was resentment among MLAs over the name of a new chief minister in the state.
Several MLAs loyal to Gehlot, who was seen as the frontrunner for the post of Congress national president, had last week submitted resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Pilot as the next chief minister.
Gehlot later announced that he will not contest the Congress presidential polls as he took moral responsibility for the political crisis in his state.
Referring to the crisis, he said 80-90 percent MLAs switch sides when a new chief minister is going to be appointed but this did not happen in Rajasthan.
“When a chief minister is changed, 80-90 percent (MLAs) leave him and switch sides.
They turn to the new candidate.
I too don"t consider it wrong.
But it was a new case in Rajasthan where the MLAs got agitated just in the name of the new chief minister,” Gehlot said without naming Pilot.
“I was in Jaisalmer.
I could not guess but the MLAs sensed who was going to be the new chief minister,” he told reporters after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the secretariat here.
When asked about the chances of the chief minister being changed now, Gehlot reiterated that it is for the party high command to decide.
“I am doing my work and if a decision has to be taken, it is for the party high command to take,” he said The veteran Congressman on Saturday asked the people to send suggestions about the next budget directly to him, hinting that he was there to stay.
He also declared that he cannot remain away from the people of Rajasthan "till his last breath" and that the Congress government will complete its five years.
The chief minister said his objective is to bring the Congress government back to power in Rajasthan after the next polls, which is important for the revival of the party at the national level.
“I had already conveyed to madam (Sonia Gandhi) and Ajay Maken in August that it is not necessary that I should be the chief minister.
I told them that I am ready to withdraw as CM.