LEAD

After Congress observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken submitted their report to party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi on the rebellion in Rajasthan, the party issued show-cause notices against three Ashok Gehlot loyalists– minister Shanti Dhariwal, chief whip Mahesh Joshi and Dharmendra Rathore.

Congress said that charges against them are an act of “grave indiscipline” and sought their replies within 10 days as to why disciplinary action not be taken against them.

CM Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday held a meeting with some ministers and party MLAs in Jaipur. He also held a telephonic conversation with party interim president Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress' central leadership on Monday continued its struggle to placate the never-ending power tussle that keeps haunting the grand old party in the last few remaining states where it is in power.

As the Rajasthan crisis intensified with chief minister Ashok Gehlot announcing his candidature for the party president's post, but refusing to give up the top chair in the state to his former deputy and now rival Sachin Pilot, a late-night meeting was held at interim chief Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi.

Here are the top developments of the day that once again brought to fore the leadership's failure to get things done smoothly:

Over 80 Rajasthan Congress MLAs have submitted their resignation letters to the assembly Speaker, CP Joshi, at his residence in a massive late night drama in the desert state. All the MLAs who have resigned will go to the official residence of Ashok Gehlot from the Speaker's home, sources told media.

The MLAs of the Gehlot faction adopted a stand this evening at Cabinet minister Shanti Dhariwal's residence against Sachin Pilot and his candidature to be the next chief minister if Ashok Gehlot is elected the Congress chief. Gehlot's loyalists want the next CM to be someone who had supported the government during the open rebellion by Pilot in 2020.

All the resignations were collected at Dhariwal's home.

Amid much confusion over whether Ashok Gehlot, one of the frontrunners for the Congress President post, would step aside as Rajasthan Chief Minister if assuming the party leadership, a positive signal has come from the leader.

Gehlot, who had declared his intention to continue as Rajasthan chief minister even if elected as Congress president, backed down after Rahul Gandhi stated that the new party chief would have to follow the “one man, one vote" principle. According to a report by the Times of India, Rahul said, “What we decided in Udaipur is a commitment of the Congress. So I expect that the commitment will be maintained.” Immediately afterwards, Gehlot termed Rahul’s position “correct”, saying that no Congress president has ever been a chief minister.

Taking a dig at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat over his outreach to the Muslim community, the Congress said that the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's meeting with prominent cleric in Delhi was due to impact of party's "Bharat Jodo Yatra" and urged him to join Rahul Gandhi in uniting country "with tricolour in hand".

Bhagwat visited a mosque in central Delhi's Kasturba Gandhi Marg and a madrassa in Delhi on Thursday and held discussions with the All India Imam Organisation chief Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, who called him "rashtra pita".

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) "sarsanghchalak" went to the Madarsa Tajweedul Quran in north Delhi's Azadpur. This was his first ever visit to a madrassa, an RSS official accompanying him said, PTI reported.