Ajay Maken resigned as the in-charge of Rajasthan

Jaipur: Congress leader Ajay Maken resigned as the in-charge of Rajasthan as no action was taken against rebel party leaders who held a parallel Congress Legislature Party meeting here on September 25, Rajasthan SC/ST Commission chairman Khiladi Lal Bairwa has said.

Bairwa, a Sachin Pilot loyalist, also alleged that those served show cause notices are being "rewarded" by "assigning them the task to manage the Bharat Jodo Yatra", which is set to enter Rajasthan in the first week of December.

"Maken was upset that more than 50 days have passed and no action was taken against the rebel Congress leaders. If the high command (referring to Maken) himself has to talk about such inaction, what justice will others get?" he told reporters on Wednesday. Senior party leaders Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge had visited Jaipur as central observers for holding a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in September amid charges and counter-charges by both factions in favour of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.

The CLP meeting could not take place, but some MLAs considered loyal to the chief minister, held a separate meeting at the residence of state minister Shanti Dhariwal, who opposed Pilot as Gehlot's successor in Rajasthan.

At that time, Maken had failed to convene a meeting of the MLAs to pass a one-line resolution to authorise the Congress president to appoint a new leader in Rajasthan.

The party had issued showcause notices to MLAs Dharmendra Rathore, Shanti Dhariwal and Mahesh Joshi, who is the chief whip of the party in the assembly. The party has not taken any action on the notices though the MLAs have responded to the charges against them.

The three MLAs are considered important for the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said all members of the party state unit have resigned after Kharge was appointed as the party's national president.

"This is the usual process. When the new party president takes charge, a new executive committee is formed. Everyone has given their resignations. We have also passed a resolution and given the right to the party's national president to select the new team," he told reporters.