He cited the developments in late September when Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at the last minute refused to give up the CM post to contest the Congress president’s election
Congress leader Ajay Maken quit as the party’s Rajasthan-in-charge on Wednesday as per sources, citing the developments in late September when Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at the last minute refused to give up the CM post to contest the Congress president’s election.
Maken wrote to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, expressing his unwillingness to continue as the in-charge of Rajasthan, in a one-page letter on November 8.
As per sources, Maken was unhappy that no action was taken by the party against the MLAs loyal to Gehlot who had refused to attend a key party meeting, where the CM’s replacement was to be picked, and instead went to the Speaker to hand in their resignation in protest.
Gehlot had apologised publicly later for failing to get the resolution passed and opted out of the race for the Congress president after meeting then party chief Sonia Gandhi.
In his letter, Maken said it was “imperative to have a new in-charge as soon as possible” as the Bharat Jodo Yatra is coming to Rajasthan early next month and there is a bypoll on December 4.
“Wedded to the ideology of Congress for the last three generations and being in active Congress politics for over 40 years, I will always remain an ardent follower of Rahul Ji, whom I trust and have faith in beyond words,” Maken stated.
According to sources, Maken stated that he wants to concentrate in Delhi through trade unions and NGOs.
He also intends to raise the issues of air pollution and fight for the rights of street vendors, slum dwellers and residents of unauthorised colonies, for whom he made specific valuable contributions as a minister earlier, the sources said.
(With PTI inputs)
