Congress disciplinary committee yet to probe Gehlot loyalists’ ‘rebellion’

NEW DELHI: The disciplinary committee that was set up immediately after the Ashok Gehlot loyalists’ “rebellion” against the high command three months back—that had hampered the party’s official CLP meet—is yet to probe the cause of the “rebellion” and who triggered it. An AICC general secretary told The Sunday Guardian, “There isn’t anything that has come out of it yet.”
A section of Congress leaders believe the committee won’t inquire into anything as the party knows that “the name of the party heavyweight, Ashok Gehlot, will emerge”. A senior Congress leader said, “There is a possibility that the committee was set up for name sake only, so that there is much hue and cry about the episode. That’s what actually happened, after the committee was set up, the matter lost steam gradually.”
Another Congress leader said, “If an inquiry is undertaken, it will be Gehlot’s name that will come up as the person responsible for the crisis and thus the high command has kept it under cover and would never be willing to disclose the perpetrators of the misdeed.”
Earlier, before the rebellion, when it was believed that the high command wanted Sachin Pilot as the chief minister of Rajasthan and offer Ashok Gehlot a central position as president of the AICC, Gehlot loyalists had rebelled against the high command which had put the integrity of the party bosses at stake. However, a disciplinary committee was set up immediately against those involved and their act was termed as “gross indiscipline”.
Later, Pilot also tried to push the issue by speaking up against the indecisiveness of the high command. “As far as Rajasthan is concerned, a CLP meet called on 25 September couldn’t be held. The AICC considered it a matter of indiscipline… If indiscipline occurred and replies (to the notices) were given, action should be taken. I believe party chief Mallikarjun Kharge will take a decision soon,” Pilot told media persons in Jaipur.
The Congress disciplinary committee in the last week of September had issued show cause notice to three Ashok Gehlot loyalists, including two ministers, after then party observers (Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken) recommended disciplinary action against three leaders for the crisis in the state.
The observers had submitted their report to party chief Sonia Gandhi flagging “gross indiscipline” on the part of some leaders who organised a parallel meet of MLAs instead of joining a Congress Legislature Party meeting. They, however, had not sought any action against Chief Minister Gehlot. The three Gehlot loyalists against whom notice was issued were Cabinet Minister Shanti Dhariwal, Minister and Congress Chief Whip in the Assembly Mahesh Joshi, and MLA Dharmendra Rathore.