Nobody knows what will be decided: Ashok Gehlot on Congress president speculation
New Delhi(PTI): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday sought to downplay speculation that he could be made Congress chief, saying nobody knows what will be decided.
Gehlot's meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi led to the buzz that the two may have discussed the possibility of him being the next party president.
"Sonia (Gandhi) ji has gone abroad for a checkup. (K C) Venugopal ji and me paid a courtesy call on her yesterday when we were going to Gujarat," he told reporters.
Asked about the possibility of him being Congress president, Gehlot said, "This has been doing the rounds in the media for a long time. You keep talking about it. Nobody knows what is going to be decided."
The veteran Congress leader added that he is concentrating on the two responsibilities given to him -- senior observer for the upcoming Gujarat assembly polls and chief minister of Rajasthan.
He asserted that his efforts were directed at ensuring the Congress government is repeated in Rajasthan.
Pressed by reporters on the party presidency question, Gehlot shot back, "Has anybody briefed you at AICC, no one has done that. Media keeps on speculating Till a decision is made, neither you nor I can comment on it."
He said Rahul Gandhi has left with his mother Sonia Gandhi for her medical checkups. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also accompanying them.
Rahul Gandhi will address the Congress' 'Mehangai Par Halla Bol' rally in New Delhi on September 4, 2022, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had said in a statement on the Gandhis' trip abroad.
Earlier, addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, Gehlot had said he was hearing the talk about party presidency from the media and did not know about it.
"I'm fulfilling duties that have been assigned to me," he had told reporters this morning.
In a scenario of having a non-Gandhi president, the names of Gehlot, Kamal Nath, K C Venugopal, Meira Kumar and Kumari Selja have been doing the rounds.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, will hold a virtual meeting on Sunday to approve the exact schedule of dates for the election of the Congress president.
Sonia Gandhi will preside over the CWC meeting.
Several leaders, including Gehlot, have been publicly exhorting Rahul Gandhi to become party chief again. However, uncertainty and suspense continue on the issue. Several party insiders say Rahul Gandhi is persisting with his stance that he will not be AICC president.
He resigned as Congress president after the party suffered its second consecutive defeat in parliamentary elections in 2019. Sonia Gandhi, who took over the reins of the party again as interim president, had also offered to quit in August 2020 after an open revolt by a section of leaders, referred to as G-23, but the CWC had urged her to continue.
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TVK chief should be given opportunity to prove majority in TN Assembly: Omar
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said there was no justification for the Tamil Nadu governor to stop TVK leader Vijay from forming the government, and he should be provided an opportunity to prove majority in the assembly.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday rejected TVK chief Vijay's claim to form the government, stating that his party lacks the requisite numbers.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has fallen short of meeting a simple majority to form the government in Tamil Nadu. Though the Congress with five MLAs has offered support to TVK, Vijay's party falls short of a simple majority of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Abdullah said there was no justification for President's rule in Tamil Nadu in view of numerous Supreme Court judgements emphasising on inviting the single largest party to form the government and then prove its majority on the floor of the house.
"If we see the Supreme Court judgement, then there should be no President's rule. There are so many cases in which the SC has clearly stated that after the elections, the single largest party should be invited (for government formation) and they should be allowed to prove their majority in the assembly," Abdullah told reporters here when asked about the political situation in Tamil Nadu.
"It happened when (former prime minister) (A B) Vajpayee formed the government for 13 days, the President of India did not wait for him to show his numbers. The President of India invited him, the government was there for 13 days, but when Vajpayee did not have the numbers, he resigned," he said.
So, if we take the SC judgement, the J-K CM added, then the Tamil Nadu Lok Bhavan "has no justification to stop this process".
"Vijay should be allowed to form the government, and then he should be provided an opportunity to prove his majority and if he proves, he will remain, but if not, then he will have to resign," Abdullah said.
To a question on whether there would be impact of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Jammu and Kashmir, the CM said its impact remains to be seen in the rest of the country first as the assembly elections in the Union territory were not due till 2029.
"As of now it (SIR) has happened in Bengal only. Why are you worried about J-K? The elections are not to take place here till 2029. Let us first see its impact in the rest of the country. What we had to suffer (in J-K), we have. We suffered their delimitation, which was done to benefit the BJP and its friends. Let's see what happens in the future," he said.
On the reported remarks of Leader of Opposition in the J-K assembly, Sunil Sharma, that if the chief minister goes for cabinet expansion, then his party, the National Conference (NC), would suffer like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and someone like Eknath Shinde would emerge here as well, Abdullah said all his MLAs stand firmly with the party.
"This tells about the intentions of the BJP. 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' (turncoats). Eknath Shinde left because the BJP helped him to leave. It is obvious that the LoP is impatient to hold the chair of the chief minister of J-K. I will only tell him that there is no Eknath Shinde in the National Conference. NC's MLAs stand firmly with the party," he said.
Abdullah said the cabinet expansion is on hold because statehood has not been restored to J-K.
"Cabinet expansion is not on hold because of any fear and that is why I regularly say that the LoP proves through statements like this that till the BJP does not get power, they will not allow us to work smoothly and will not make J-K a state again," he said.
Hitting out at the LoP and the BJP, the J-K CM said the people of J-K, especially those who voted for the BJP in the last elections, should remember that the LoP and his party "indulge in the politics of blackmail and the people here are intimidated in the name of statehood".
