Close on the heels of Congress leader Sachin Pilot’s Jan Sangharsh Yatra and his ultimatum to the Ashok Gehlot government, the party’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Saturday said no one would be expelled but those who left the party in the past had not fared well. “You all know the condition of the ones who left the Congress,” Mr. Randhawa said.
“The Congress never wants to expel anyone, especially the senior leaders. We respect every person and never want to remove those who have spent a long time [in the party],” Mr. Randhawa told reporters outside the airport here. He said the dissidents should raise their issues within the party to bring them to the notice of all responsible leaders.
Asked about Mr. Pilot’s five-day yatra from Ajmer to Jaipur, Mr. Randhawa said it was his “personal march” and the Congress had nothing to do with it. “The yatra should be taken out, but launching it just before the voting in Karnataka was not appropriate... I don’t consider it a good thing,” he said.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Pilot had given an ultimatum to Mr. Gehlot on his yatra’s conclusion earlier this week to act in the alleged corruption cases of the previous BJP regime by the month-end, failing which he would launch a massive State-wide agitation. He had placed three demands for disbanding of Rajasthan Public Service Commission and its reconstitution, compensation to the youths affected by exam paper leaks and a high-level probe into the instances of corruption and scandals.
Mr. Randhawa said that those raising the issue of corruption in the BJP rule should also talk about action not be taken against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Sanjeevani Credit Cooperative Society scam. “The evidence in support of allegations on corruption should be produced before the appropriate forum,” he said.
On the impact of the ongoing tussle among the factions led by senior leaders in the ruling party on this year’s Assembly election, the Congress in-charge said there was no permanent enemy and no permanent friend in politics. “It is the BJP which is spreading rumours about lack of unity in Congress,” he said.
Mr. Randhawa criticised the BJP government at the Centre for the Reserve Bank of India’s announcement to discontinue the circulation of the ₹2,000 currency notes. “The government which could not run ₹2,000 note for seven years is asking the Congress what it did in 70 years. They should be asked how will they run the country,” he said.
