No end to dissent in Rajasthan, sports minister Ashok Chandna takes on own govt

The Congress is witnessing fresh rumblings of dissent in Rajasthan ever since it hosted a three-day Chintan Shivir (brainstorming camp) in Udaipur from May 13-15. Though there is no imminent danger to the Ashok Gehlot-led government, the open dissent poses a challenge to the party at a crucial time when Rajya Sabha elections for four seats in the state are round the corner.

The latest salvo was fired by Gehlot loyalist Ashok Chandna, who holds portfolios of sports and youth affairs, skill development, employment, entrepreneurship and disaster management in the Rajasthan government. Chandna took to Twitter to complain against the hold of the bureaucracy on governance and wrote in Hindi, "Honourable chief minister, I have a personal request to you. Free me from this cruel ministerial post and give the charge of all my departments to Kuldeep Ranka ji, because anyway, he is the minister of all the departments. Thank you."

Ranka is principal secretary to Gehlot. The CM brushed it aside on Friday, calling it work stress from the responsibility of hosting rural Olympics. "I haven't spoken to him yet. But I think it could be stress. He is shouldering the responsibility of hosting rural Olympics which will see participation of 30 lakh people in the remote villages of Rajasthan," Gehlot told media persons in Jaipur.

Chandna's is not the lone voice of dissent. Right after the Chintan Shivir, Rajasthan Youth Congress president and Dungarpur MLA Ganesh Ghogra resigned as MLA. In a letter to Gehlot, he accused the state government of ignoring him and creating pressure through administration so that he and local Congressmen stop raising people's issues.

People close to Gehlot, however, said that these MLAs are battling anti-incumbency in their constituencies and are criticising the government to distance themselves from the administration. "This is the MLAs' way of telling their constituents that they are raising their voice but the high command is not listening to them. How else can you explain that four managing directors of Rajasthan Skill Development Corporation under him have been changed on Chandna's insistence?" a Rajasthan Congress functionary told ET on condition of anonymity.

Such antagonistic voices signify the continuance of the tussle between Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot. Earlier this week, another MLA, Rajendra Bidhuri, a Pilot loyalist, questioned Gehlot's reluctance in ordering a Central Bureau of Investigation probe in Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers, which was cancelled after allegations of a paper leak surfaced.