JAIPUR: In a startling turn of events for the Congress party in Rajasthan, a public meeting in Kota meant to galvanize party workers for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections witnessed a clash between two senior leaders, shedding light on internal rifts within the party.
The incident unfolded on Friday as a confrontation between Prahlad Gunjal, a recent entrant to the Congress and a supporter of Vasundhara Raje, who is now the Congress candidate for the Kota Lok Sabha seat, and Shanti Dhariwal, a longstanding stalwart of the Congress in the area.
Gunjal has been made the Congress candidate from Kota much against the wishes of Dhariwal, the PWD minister in the previous Gehlot government, who has been the Kota stalwart of the Congress for many decades.
The confrontation arose during the meeting, initially sparked by Gunjal’s verbal onslaught against Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP candidate, Om Birla. Subsequently, when it was Dhariwal’s turn to address the gathering, he demanded an apology from Gunjal for purportedly leveling baseless accusations against him during his years with the BJP. Dhariwal emphasized the ethos of the Congress party, insisting, ‘Divisions based on religion hold no place here.’
Gunjal asserted, “During my time with BJP, I followed the secular principles.”