Kamal Nath roped in as observer for Rajasthan Congress; BJP mocks 'bankruptcy of leaders'

As Congress in Rajasthan is on the verge of imploding, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stood as a curious spectator on Monday, September, 26. On the news of an observer being roped in to solve the dispute among the warring factions over speculations of Ashok Gehlot stepping down as the Chief Minister, and Sachin Pilot taking over the post, the BJP reacted to former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's name coming up. 

'Bankruptcy of good leaders in Congress'

"Clearly Gandhis have little credibility & purchase left now? Admission of their inability?" wrote the saffron party's national spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla on Twitter. Calling Kamal Nath 'the prime antagonist' in the Madhya Pradesh factionalism, Poonawalla added, "He is their pick to solve factionalism! Wow."

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, also a saffron party leader, wrote on the microblogging site, "You know it's a bankruptcy of good leaders in Congress...when they have to choose Kamalnath to solve a crisis!! " 

The reference is being made to the March 2020 crisis that engulfed Madhya Pradesh, triggered by the resignation of Joytiraditya Scindia. 22 Congress legislators followed Scindia's footsteps, resigning from the party and subsequently joining the BJP. The crisis had led to the fall of the Congress government led by Kamal Nath as Chief Minister in the state. 

Crisis in Rajasthan

A Congress Legislative Committee meeting was scheduled on Sunday, September 25, at the residence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the presence of observers for the state which included Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken. The meeting was attended by Sachin Pilot and his camp MLAs, along with members of the Gehlot camp.

The latter had held a meeting with Cabinet Minister Shanti Dhariwal at his residence, following which over 90 MLAs had submitted their resignations to Speaker CP Joshi. 'Upset' with the development, interim president Sonia Gandhi summoned both Gehlot and Sachin Pilot to Delhi. Also, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken were called along with Kamal Nath. 

Speaking to the media, after arriving in Delhi, Kharge said, "We are going to 10 Janpath to meet Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi. We will apprise her about the events (about the Rajasthan Congress crisis). She will eventually take the decision on it."