Kamal Nath In Madhya Pradesh, Contest Not Over In Rajasthan: Sources
NEW DELHI, Dec 13: Rahul Gandhi is expected to name the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan today after a meeting with two pairs of leaders fighting for the top post.
Kamal Nath is likely to be named chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, where the party won a narrow victory in state polls, emerging as the largest party but touching majority only with support from Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Jyotiraditya Scindia, the other contender for the job, is believed to have been offered the post of deputy. Mr Scindia is believed to have told the party he has popular support. When NDTV asked him yesterday whether he would like to be chief minister, he replied: "Absolutely, I would be honoured to serve as chief minister."
In Rajasthan the Congress is confronting a tougher choice between state chief Sachin Pilot and two-time chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
Sources say Ashok Gehlot is the front-runner, but Sachin Pilot, credited with recharging the party after its poorest show in state polls in 2013, is putting up a fight. As the party looks ahead to the 2019 polls, Ashok Gehlot has experience on his side.
Rahul Gandhi's audio message to 7.3 lakh Congress workers, urging them to reveal to him their choice of chief minister in complete confidence, reflects the party's challenging task after scoring poll victories in three big states.
In both states, lawmakers held marathon meetings yesterday, after which leaders announced that the choice had been left to Rahul Gandhi.
Sources say two-thirds of the newly-elected Congress lawmakers in Rajasthan have conveyed to the central leadership that they want Sachin Pilot, the 41-year-old state Congress head, to be chief minister.
Two leaders met each of the 99 Rajasthan Congress lawmakers for over six hours.
Sources say more lawmakers seem to favour Sachin Pilot, but the Congress' worry is accommodating Ashok Gehlot in an equally appealing role. Next year's national election may have a huge bearing on the decision.
Sources say the Congress is weighing a formula that will keep both leaders happy, since it is the combined strength of both that has brought the party this far. Such a formula may involve positioning one leader in Delhi for a national role, leaving the other to manage Rajasthan.
Yesterday, the Congress president had said there would be "no issue" over chief ministership. "It will be done smoothly," he said.
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
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Karnataka Assembly passes Social Boycott Prevention Bill
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill unanimously.
The bill was introduced in the House by the Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa on December 12.
The bill defines social boycott as a gesture or an act, whether oral or written, of any social discrimination between the members of the community.
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The bill proposes three years of imprisonment and a fine extending up to Rs 1 lakh. It also prohibits people from gathering, assembling, or congregating at any time and at any place with the view or intention to deliberate on the issue of imposing social boycott on any member of the community. It prohibits gathering to impose social boycott.
The bill also says that if the accused is convicted, the court should hear the victim on the quantum of sentence and then only pass the sentence.
During the discussion, Mahadevappa termed the bill historic and said the aim of the bill is to bring equality in society and to protect backward people from further getting marginalised through social boycott.
The BJP and the JD(S) MLAs welcomed the bill.
