A day after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sacked Rajendra Gudha as the Minister of State for speaking against the state government’s law and order in the assembly, State Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra on Saturday said that the removal of anyone from the cabinet is the right of the CM of the state.
“Including or excluding anyone from the cabinet is the right of the CM of the state. The same thing has been done by the CM of the state (Ashok Gehlot),” Dotasra said.
Speaking about the “indiscipline behaviour”, Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the ruling party in Rajasthan is a democratic party and everyone can voice their opinions. “We have observed indiscipline behavior within the party… With elections around the corner, we are competing against a party (BJP) that emphasizes discipline. Congress exhibits greater discipline than them. Congress is a democratic party, and everybody can voice their opinions within our ranks,” he said.
Chief Minister Gehlot, during a media interaction earlier in the day had termed the matter as internal and said it is being discussed within the party. “This is our internal matter and we will discuss this among ourselves,” he said.
Gudha, who held the position of Minister of State for Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence, Panchayati Raj, and Rural Development, was dismissed from his post on Friday.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had recommended the dismissal of Rajendra Gudha to Governor Kalraj Mishra, according to an official statement from the Raj Bhavan. The governor promptly accepted this recommendation, and the dismissal took effect immediately.
The decision came swiftly after Congress was left red-faced when Gudha criticised his own government’s handling of crimes against women. This happened while his peers were protesting the Manipur violence during the discussion on the Rajasthan Minimum Income Guaranteed Bill, 2023, in the Assembly.
Gudha voiced the need for accountability within their own government regarding the increasing atrocities against women in Rajasthan. He suggested that rather than focusing on Manipur, they should introspect on their failure to provide adequate security to women in their state.
Leader of Opposition, Rajendra Rathore, seized the opportunity and slammed the Congress-led government, stating that Rajasthan ranks at the top for crimes against women. Rathore called upon chief minister Gehlot, who also holds the Home Minister post, to take responsibility for the deteriorating state of law and order in Rajasthan.
Gudha’s Reaction and Support from BJP
After his sacking, Gudha told reporters that he was penalised for speaking the truth. “Rajasthan is at number one position in crimes against women. What wrong did I say? I got the punishment for speaking the truth,” he stated.
The BJP supported Gudha with Minister for Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur stating the former was sacked on the instructions of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for expressing concern over crimes against women in the state.
“Will Chief Minister Gehlot tender his resignation when his own minister says that the chief minister has lost his Iqbal (authority), when in his home district, a woman is murdered and burnt, and when five km away from his residence a woman is raped and left to die? he asked. “This is a question for (Congress chief Mallikarjun) Kharge and Gandhi parivaar leaders,” he added.
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Gajendra Singh Sekhawat had targeted the Rajasthan chief minister and said in a tweet in Hindi, “Telling the truth is forbidden in Gehlot’s regime.” “The chief minister does not have the courage to accept the truth. When his minister Rajendra Gudha ji told the truth in the assembly, Gehlot ji felt so bad that he removed him from the post itself,” he said.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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