Rebel MLAs face disqualification from Rajasthan Assembly, Speaker sends notices
Jaipur: Rajasthan Speaker C P Joshi has issued notices to Sachin Pilot and other rebel Congress MLAs after the party seeking their disqualification from the state assembly.
Sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and the other MLAs were asked to respond to the notices by Friday, sources said. The notices were issued on Tuesday.
Congress sources said Pilot and 18 other MLAs had defied a whip and did not attend its legislature party meetings.
Sachin Pilot was on Tuesday sacked as deputy chief minister and the state Congress president after he did not show up at the Congress Legislature Party meetings on Monday and Tuesday.
Two other ministers in the Pilot camp, Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena, were also dropped from the Cabinet for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government.
The party had filed a petition with Speaker C P Joshi, seeking the disqualification of all party MLAs who did not attend the CLP meeting, AICC general secretary Avinash Pande said on Wednesday.
He said it was up to the Speaker to decide what action to take if the replies to the notices were not satisfactory.
The party has also issued a gag order, saying no Congress member can communicate with the media without the permission of the newly appointed state unit chief.
On Tuesday, Avinash Pande, who is the Rajasthan in-charge at the AICC, dissolved the state executive and all cells of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC).
The Congress had appointed Govind Singh Dotasara as the new president of the party's Rajasthan unit.
With the appointment of the new president, a new state executive and departments will be formed, Pande said.
He said no Congressman will communicate with the media without the permission of the state unit president.
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CM Siddaramaiah ready to "sacrifice power" or continue, as per Rahul's directions: Rajanna
Bengaluru (PTI): As the speculation about leadership change in Karnataka rages yet again, a senior party leader and close aide of Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Chief Minister was ready to "sacrifice power" or continue in the top post, based on the directions of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
KN Rajanna also seemed to support the idea of a change in the party leadership as well, an apparent reference to deputy CM and Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar, whose supporters want him to be made CM.
Urging the Congress high command to clear the confusion on the leadership issue, Rajanna, a former minister who is considered close to Siddaramaiah, warned that continued uncertainty would be detrimental for the party and governance.
He also insisted that if the chief minister is changed, there should be a "Dalit CM" in Karnataka.
The development comes amid speculations within the party and political circles about a possible decision on leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, once the results for assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two assembly segments in Karnataka, are announced.
"The Chief Minister has an open mind and has said he will abide by the directions of the high command and Rahul Gandhi, and that everyone should cooperate. The CM has repeatedly reiterated that he will abide by Rahul Gandhi's directives and suggested that everyone follow the decision. All ministers have agreed to it," Rajanna said in response to a question about the CM's recent discussion with his close cabinet colleagues and MLAs.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "power is not permanent for any politician, those who lose it will try to gain it and those who have gained it will try to maintain it. The CM's mindset is that he is ready to sacrifice power or continue in power as per Rahul Gandhi's directions. He will abide by Rahul Gandhi's decision."
When asked whether supporters of Siddaramaiah demanded that he continue as CM, and if he steps down, that an AHINDA leader should take over, the MLA said the matter is for the high command to decide.
"We have told the high command what we had to. Ultimately it is left to high command and Rahul Gandhi," he said.
AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits) is considered as the strong support base of Siddaramaiah and also the Congress party.
When asked about his past statement that there should be a Dalit CM after Siddaramaiah, Rajanna said, "What's wrong with it. I am committed to the statement that there should be a Dalit CM."
MLAs and leaders who want Shivakumar to be elevated have recently claimed they expect some "sweet news" by May 15, which is their leader's birthday.
When asked whether the party president should also be changed, the former minister said that everything has to change.
"If the ministers have to change, why shouldn't the party president. Everything will be decided by high command," he said.
Shivakumar is the state Congress President and has completed six years in the post.
For the government to function more actively towards the welfare of the people it is important that the high command clears the existing confusion in the Congress party at the earliest, Rajanna said, adding, the ministers have gone to discuss the same with the leadership.
"I too urge that the high command should not allow the confusion to continue; as long as the confusion continues, it is detrimental for the party and governance. I will also go to Delhi after May 4," he said.
"The high command is at it (resolving the confusion), but because of elections, the leaders are busy. The matter cannot be decided hastily, it must be decided with a clear state of mind, as it involves the future of the people of Karnataka and the party," he said, expressing confidence that the party will take appropriate decisions after examining all aspects.
PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary (in charge of Karnataka) Randeep Surjewala in New Delhi and requested them to address the speculation regarding the change of leadership in the state.
Subsequently Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa too met the party leadership in Delhi.
Both Jarkiholi and Mahadevappa are considered close to Siddaramaiah.
Regarding the demand for cabinet reshuffle, Rajanna said there is an expectation within both the party and the public that the administration should be sensitised more, and there is nothing wrong in new people getting opportunities.
Responding to a question, Rajanna said, there is a feeling among AHINDA communities that their expectations from the current government have not been fulfilled. "I too agree with it," he said.
Rajanna, who recently alleged that the Chief Minister is "helpless" and under some "compulsion," reiterated his statement by saying, "compare Siddaramaiah as CM during 2013-18 and 2023 to now, there is a huge difference, people are saying it."
The leadership issue is being hotly debated as Shivakumar's supporters have been demanding his elevation since late 2025, in lines with a rumoured power-sharing agreement involving Siddaramaiah when the party won the 2023 Assembly elections.
