A day after Congress MLA from Dungarpur, Ganesh Ghogra, tendered his resignation in protest against a case registered against him on charges of obstructing public servants from discharging duty, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the law would take its course. Mr. Ghogra had allegedly created a ruckus and locked up some officers in a panchayat building.
Mr. Ghogra sent his resignation as an MLA to Mr. Gehlot and marked its copy to Assembly Speaker C. P. Joshi. Mr. Gehlot told reporters here that while the first information report (FIR) was registered because there was rule of law in the State, Mr. Ghogra should be praised for fighting for people’s rights and raising crucial issues at public forums.
Mr. Ghogra, who is also the Youth Congress’s State president, attended a public hearing at a Panchayat Bhawan in Dungarpur on Tuesday. However, he later staged a dharna over non-issuance of land deeds for a group of local residents and led a crowd which locked up the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Tehsildar and others inside the building.
Mr. Gehlot said Mr. Ghogra was “our young colleague” and an emotional person who kept fighting for the people of his constituency. He said senior Congress leaders would try to persuade him to withdraw his resignation, and address his grievances. “I expect that the situation will normalise soon,” Mr. Gehlot said.
In his resignation letter, Mr. Ghogra said he was being neglected despite being an MLA of the ruling party and the Youth Congress’s State president. He alleged that his voice was suppressed by the local administration and officers whenever he tried to raise the people’s issues.
As many as 11 persons, including Mr. Ghogra, were named in the FIR registered at the Dungarpur Sadar Police Station, while 50 to 60 others were unnamed accused. Considered a loyalist of Mr. Gehlot, Mr. Ghogra was appointed the Youth Congress’s State president in July 2020 during the political crisis created by the rebellion of Congress leader Sachin Pilot.
