Congress Should Establish Why MLAs Rebelled: Gehlot

Veteran leader takes a swipe at rival Sachin Pilot, says normally legislators switch sides when a new chief minister is announced

- Manish Godha

Ashok Gehlot said on Sunday that it was important to find out why the prospect of a new chief minister had led to resentment among legislators, in a sign that the Congress' Rajasthan unit continues to be in turmoil.

Several MLAs loyal to the chief minister, who was seen as the frontrunner for the post of Congress national president, had last week submitted resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Sachin Pilot as his successor Gehlot later said he will not contest the Congress elections and took responsibility for the political crisis in his state.

Referring to the crisis, he said most legislators switch sides when a new chief minister is going to be appointed, but this was not the case in Rajasthan. "Why were 102 MLAS enraged that they did not listen. What were they afraid of? Why did this happen? What were the reasons? It is important to find out," Gehlot said without naming Pilot.