As political mercury heats up, Rajasthan Chief Minister leads the Congress attack.
NEW DELHI: The collision between Congress and the NDA government at the Centre is likely to be more intense following the CBI raids against Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s brother Agrasen Gehlot. As the CM Gehlot was leading the protest against the ED questioning of Congress former president Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, the CBI raids against his brother are being linked to that only. Gehlot was playing a key role in leading the Congress protest as party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi is hospitalized. So, the political mercury has heated up due to the CBI action.
It was two years ago that the Enforcement Directorate had questioned Agrasen Gehlot amid the bids to topple the government in Rajasthan. But the ED questioning ended up getting nothing. So, this gives Congress the reason to dub the present CBI action as a politically motivated move.
The CM was aggressive after the CBI raids on Friday, saying that this action is the result of his participation in the protest in Delhi. Gehlot said that he is not afraid of any such action. “Even I had sought time from the CBI,” Gehlot said. The CM has signaled that he will continue to be vocal against the central government. Needless to say, Gehlot has been aggressively on the front-foot during the protest against what he called unfair and illogical question of Rahul by the ED. He was seen attacking the Modi government unequivocally. He also boosted the morale of the workers and leaders of the party. This kind of action of the Congress workers was seen after a long gap of time. Gehlot also continued to camp in Delhi for six days, protesting against the Modi government and reenergizing the workers. The Congress has not yet withdrawn the agitation, and the next course of action will be planned by the party on Sunday, as the ED will resume questioning of Rahul on Monday as well. Given the long phases of questioning, Congress is apprehensive about the possibility of arrest of Rahul Gandhi. Observers are of the view that Rahul Gandhi’s arrest is a possibility, given the aggressive gesture of the Congress. However, some believe that arrest will not happen as of now. What drives the Congress jittery is that Congress president has to be elected in August, and that Rahul Gandhi will get the top post, given the overwhelming support for him from State units and the message that came from the Udaipur Shivir.
All the senior leaders, including Ashok Gehlot, have been urging Rahul Gandhi to take over the charge of the party at the highest level. If Rahul is arrested, then the Congress will be in double-trouble. While Sonia Gandhi is sick and hospitalized, Rahul Gandhi’s arrest will spell trouble for the organisation. With all this in view, Congress is going to face challenging days ahead. Different views are already afloat on social media against the Gandhi family in the National Herald scam case. Moreover, the case of the CM Gehlot’s brother will also add more heat to the entire politics. However, what remains to be interestingly seen is the future course of action to be decided by the grand old party.