All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ajay Maken, recently appointed in-charge of Rajasthan, met the party leaders, workers, office-bearers and Ministers here on Monday to evolve a consensus in the party in the aftermath of a month-long political turmoil. This was Mr. Maken’s first visit to the State after his new appointment.
Mr. Maken, who is also part of a three-member committee set up by the Congress to look into the issues raised by Sachin Pilot and his supporters, will hold extensive discussions with party functionaries and get feedback from the Ministers and MLAs during his four-day visit. His visit also assumes significance for the impending organisational changes and Ministry reshuffle.
After his interaction with the Ministers at the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters, Mr. Maken told reporters that each of them had fulfilled 60% to 70% of the promises made in the Congress manifesto for the 2018 Assembly election. “This achievement indicates that our Ministers are accountable to the people,” said Mr. Maken, who has replaced Avinash Pande as the in-charge of Rajasthan.
PCC president Govind Singh Dotasra accompanied Mr. Maken during his interactions. Mr. Maken said the State government would present a progress report on its works, including the implementation of various schemes and execution of the manifesto’s promises, to the public on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on October 2.
Mr. Dotasra said both the government and the ruling party were working hard for people’s welfare in the State with an effective coordination. The Ministers will visit the districts assigned to them once every month and get the feedback from the party’s district and block units in an attempt to redress people’s grievances.
Mr. Maken will interact with the party functionaries from various districts of Jaipur and Ajmer divisions during the next two days. On his arrival here on Sunday night, the Congress leader accused the BJP of killing democracy through money power and by misusing the Central investigating agencies. “The BJP faced defeat in Rajasthan when it tried to do so recently,” he said.
Mr. Maken also met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy CM Mr. Pilot at their respective residences here. While Mr. Gehlot welcomed Mr. Maken, Mr. Pilot expressed the hope that the Congress would get a “new direction” in the State under his guidance.
The Ashok Gehlot government won a trust vote on the floor of the Assembly on August 14 after Mr. Pilot and 18 dissident MLAs supporting him returned to the Congress fold. The truce between the two factions was worked out after the intervention of the party’s top leadership.
