Congress high command to take final call on cabinet reshuffle in Rajasthan
Jaipur, Jul 25: A final decision on the issue of cabinet reshuffle in Rajasthan has been left to the Congress high command and the expansion is likely to be held in the next few days, party sources said.
AICC general secretaries KC Venugopal and Ajay Maken late on Saturday night held discussions on the issues of cabinet reshuffle and political appointments with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at his residence.
The cabinet expansion is likely to be held in the next few days.
After discussions, the leaders have left the final decision about the reshuffle to the party high command, the sources said.
"The meeting lasted for nearly two-and-a-half hours during which discussion on cabinet reshuffle and political appointments were held. The final decision about the reshuffle has been left to the party high command," the sources told PTI.
At present, there are 21 members in the council of ministers, including chief minister, and nine slots are vacant.Rajasthan can have a maximum of 30 ministers.
After Punjab, the party high command has shifted its focus to Rajasthan, where demands for Cabinet expansion and political appointments have gained momentum after reports of resentment in the camp led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who along with 18 MLAs had rebelled against the leadership of Gehlot last year.
Three days back, Pilot had indicated that the Congress would take suitable steps soon to address issues raised by him.
He had said that he is in touch with the party high command over the issues raised by him and hoped that the required steps would be taken soon.
Pilot was sacked as the deputy chief minister and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief in July last year after he rebelled against the leadership of Gehlot. After a one-month-long political crisis, the party high command announced to form a three-member committee to look into the issues raised by him.
Last month, MLAs from the Pilot camp said that the party should fulfil the promises made to Pilot last month, following which the demand for Cabinet expansion and political appointments gained momentum.
During the meeting on Saturday night, "It was also decided that political appointments in various boards and corporations should take place as soon as possible with discussion and consensus of elected public representatives, state office bearers and senior leaders of the party," the sources said.
It was also decided that the manifesto committee of AICC will hold a meeting to review the progress in the implementation of the party manifesto of Rajasthan.
The committee chairman will visit the state later this month, the sources added.
PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra said that Venugopal and Maken will hold meeting with party MLAs here on Sunday.
He also clarified that no meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has been convened on Sunday.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
