MINISTER ‘ CHALLENGES ’ RANDHAWA TO ‘ ACT ON OTHERS ’ !

Whatever has been given to me belongs to my party, says Mahesh Joshi

Naresh Sharma

Jaipur: Congress’ politics has heated up after the resignation of PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi from the post of Government Chief Whip. Congress State In-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has said that party’s decision of ‘one person, one post’ and the incident on September 25 are the reason behind Joshi’s resignation. Meanwhile, after Randhawa’s remark, Joshi has now fuelled political controversy by raising the demand for action against the leaders of the Pilot camp.

On the question whether Mahesh Joshi’s resignation is an action for the September 25 incident or because of the two posts, Randhawa while talking to media at the Circuit House in Jaipur said, “Party’s action is also the reason for the resignation. There is also the issue of holding two posts. Further action will be taken in this matter.” The matter was there even before his appointment, Randhawa added. “In such a situation, whatever instructions the high command gives me, I will take the same action. I will not send any report in this matter, but if the high command asks me to take any action, I will do so with immediate effect. I have done what the high command asked me to do,” Randhawa said. Interestingly, the state in-charge accepted that there is estrangement between the leaders and he is trying to end it. “There is no resentment in Pilot, this is just media talk,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister Mahesh Joshi said that he resigned and the resignation was accepted by the High Command and the Chief Minister. “Randhawa considered it as part of the action, I am happy that the action has also been taken and my wish has also been fulfilled. I am waiting for action to be taken against those who tried to weaken the party and the gov- ernment so that the message of equality goes to all the workers. I am not a person who works under pressure. If the high command had decided at that moment, I would have resigned. If the high command wants me even further than this, I will be happy to follow their orders. Whatever has been given to me belongs to my party. I will be happy to obey the orders of the high command. All I have to say is that the rest of the action should also be taken soon,” Joshi said.

The Minister further said, “The decision has been taken in midst of an ongoing Assembly session. I had given my resignation before the Assembly’s budget session. I have been saying since October that I should be relieved of one post. When you made me a Minister, instead of assuming dual responsibility, it is better for me to concentrate on one side.”

Gehlot Visits Sirohi And Udaipur

Tribals have preserved nation’s ancient culture & tradition: CM

WE TOOK CARE OF MASSES’ CONCERNS IN STATE BUDGET, SAYS GEHLOT

MERELY HOURS AFTER ‘AGGRESSIVE’ REMARK, RANDHAWA TAKES A U-TURN!

Jaipur: State Congress in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa’s changed tone has become a topic of discussion in the political circles of the state as two different statements were made by Randhawa, in one day. On the issue of resignation of Mahesh Joshi from the post of Chief Whip, Randhawa gave statement in the evening and said, “Joshi’s resignation is only on the basis of the principle of ‘one person one post.’ We will not take out Tughlaqifarman . We will coordinate with everyone and the decision will be taken with everyone’s consent. The high command will decide on the September 25 incident.” Interestingly, on the same issue, Randhawa in the morning had said that Joshi’s resignation was ‘part of action for the September 25 incident and there is also a policy of one person one post. Action on other leaders will be taken after instructions from the high command.” Notably, the change in Randhawa’s statements came to the fore after his meeting with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot! —Yogesh Sharma

Harish Chaudhary meets CM, talks about org issues

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi may have lost his Rajya Sabha membership, may have lost his ministerial post, but his spirits continue to soar. When there is an uproar over Ramcharit Manas across the country, especially in states like UP-Bihar, Naqvi has decided to organise a grand staging of ‘Jai Shri Ram Ramayana’ in Muslim-dominated areas, especially in Rampur’s Rathonda Kisan Mela.

On March 3, this grand three-hour performance based on Ramcharit Manas will take place.

Many famous faces from Ramanand Sagar’s famous TV serial will be a part of this staging, which include actors like Puneet Issar and Bindu Dara Singh. In this Ramayana staging, modern technology and various contexts of Shri Ramcharit Manas are being powerfully woven into one thread.

It should be noted that in the same fair last year, Naqvi staged the Mahabharata as well. The historic Shiva temple is also situated here where lakhs of people gather for Jalabhishek on the occasion of Mahashivaratri. In fact, Naqvi also performed Jalabhishek by going to the Shiva temple during the inauguration of this fair on Thursday.

RAO’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS MAYAWATI ...AND FINALLY

T he BJP has already completely entered the ‘Election Mode’ for the Lok Sabha elections. If sources are to be believed, many Congress stalwarts are stepping at the doors of BJP to become ‘saffronised’.

The party has identified such leaders and prepared a list of them. The matter is stuck on just timing. Amit Shah is understood to have asked these leaders to wait till September, while Modi wants nothing to happen before December.

E ver since SP supremo Mayawati announced that ‘she will not forge an electoral alliance with any party in UP in the 2024 general elections’, Chandrasekhar Rao has new stress on his face.

Telangana Chief Minister Rao wants to emerge as the new Leader of the Opposition unit. However, he has not given up on his dream. Recently, he held a long talk with Mayawati over the phone and invited her to be the chief guest at a grand ‘Holi Milan function’ held in Hyderabad. Rao plans to meet Mayawati there and a scholarship will be distributed to 1,000 Dalit girls and on the same pretext, Mayawati will be persuaded to make a coalition with Akhilesh.

Ashok Kumawat & Shikha

Sirohi: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, addressing the Marwar Meena Samaj Mahasammelan organised at village Chotila, Shivganj, Sirohi, on Saturday, said that the tribals have an invaluable contribution in preserving the ancient culture, civilization and tradition of the country. It has had an equal share in the development of the state. He said that the State government has also left no stone unturned in the development of tribal dominated districts like Banswara, Dungarpur, Udaipur and Pratapgarh. Gehlot said that the amount of Tribal Development Fund has been increased from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore. He said that Marwar Tribal Development Board has been constituted for all round development of ST category in Jodhpur division. He appealed to the public to give maximum publicity to the schemes and take benefits to the last person.

Jodhpur: CM Ashok Gehlot was extended a warm welcome at Jodhpur airport.

Praising the State budget, the Chief Minister said that people are welcoming it only because they liked the budget so much. He also said that in the upcoming elections, now every party will decide its manifesto on the basis of the budget. Meanwhile, Gehlot duly inaugurated the 25th National Public Entertainment Fair in the open courtyard of Ashoka Garden wherein CM’s wife Sunita Gehlot also participated.

Addressing the event, CM Gehlot said, “When Man Singh Deora was UIT chairman, then the idea of an open theatre was conceived. It should not be named after Ashok Udyan. When I became the CM for the first time, a fund was earmarked for welfare of artists & journos. Now when the pen came in hand, a budget of Rs 100 crore was given.”

Gehlot also remembered Komal Kothari’s contribution and said, “The Sangeet Natak Akademi has also progressed after a long struggle. 3.5,000 hours of recording is a big record in itself.” He compared his budget with issues of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and said “Inflation is high, people are worried, but we took care of their problems.”

—Rajeev Gaur and Shiv Prakash

Harish Chaudhary

Naresh Sharma

Jaipur: MLA and Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Chaudhary met CM Ashok Gehlot at CMR on Saturday. State Congress in-charge Sukhjinder S Randhawa was also present. As a result of the development, different political meanings are being extracted from the meeting.

Notably, Harish Chaudhary was vocal for some time now, but Saturday’s meeting occurred in a pleasant atmosphere. State Congress President GS Dotasra and Sanyam Lodha were also present during the meeting.

However, it is being said that the issues concerning the organisation were discussed in the meeting. In particular, there has been discussion about whether to form a district organisation or to give other responsibilities, through appointments.