JAIPUR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has left Rajasthan, but not before leaving the state cadre in a fix. While the Rajasthan leaders were looking forward to a resolution of the Gehlot-Pilot tussle during Rahul’s visit, what happened instead was unexpected. Rahul asked all Congress
ministers to walk 15km a day at least once a month to connect with the public.
During the Yatra, many people had complained about the inaccessibility of the leaders. Taking a note of such complaints and in a bid to prevent damage to the party ahead of the polls next year, Rahul, in a press conference in Jaipur, asked party leaders to walk daily so that a direct message could be sent to the public. The next day, state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, in the presence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, said declared this suggestion mandatory, saying that any leader who disobeys this order will not be given a party ticket.
“If someone wants to be an MLA, they need to walk 15km once a month amid the people of the area,” Dotasra said. The decision will make it difficult for leaders who are elderly, unwell or unused to walking. About one-third of the 108 Congress MLAs are said to be facing at least one of these issues. Among the ministers who are over 70 years old are Shanti Dhariwal, Hemaram Choudhary, Sukhram Vishnoi and BD Kalla. Gehlot is 71 years old, while Assembly speaker CP Joshi is 72.
Some in the party feel that this is a means to break the ego of the leaders who do not meet the public, or exclude senior leaders from race for tickets. However, some MLAs said this suggestion was given the shape of a decree by the leaders only to improve their image in the eyes of Rahul Gandhi. Many are asking why a vehicle cannot be used to connect with the public. The announcement also promoted the BJP to take jibes at the Congress. Gulab Chand Kataria, the leader of Opposition, said, “To solve people’s problems, there is a need to communicate directly with them.