Gehlot after meeting Rahul: “Conveyed party workers’ feelings to him. Hope, he will take right decision”  

Emerging from a two-hours long meeting with the Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot told media that the meeting with Rahul Gandhi was “good” and he hopes that the party president will take “right decision”.

Accompanied by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Gehlot met Rahul at his residence on Monday afternoon.

“Meeting with Rahul Gandhi was good. We talked for around two hours. We conveyed to him the feelings of our party workers and leaders. We hope that he will pay attention to our views and will take the right decision,” said Gehlot after the meeting.

As per the sources, though Congress leaders tried their best to persuade Rahul to retract his resignation, Rahul remained firm on stepping down from his post.

Talking to media, Gehlot also took the responsibility for the poor-performance in the Lok Sabha election, but he did not miss the chance to criticise BJP and PM Modi.

Gehlot said that “the others side misled the country in the name of patriotism,” adding, “Modi ji did politics hiding behind the Army, misled people in the name of religion. He did not talk about development, economy and employment.”

In a series of tweets earlier in the day, Gehlot said only Rahul Gandhi can “lead the party in the current scenario, his commitment towards well-being of our country and countrymen is un-compromised and unmatched”.

When asked about the reports that he and the Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath offered to resign, Gehlot said, “Chief Ministers have to offer their resignations, then high command takes the decision on what to do next.”

Rahul Gandhi had announced his intention to step down from the post of the party chief last month, two days after the results of the general election were declared.

Apart from meeting Congress Chief Ministers, Rahul Gandhi also met several leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, including Ghulam Ahmed Mir, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ambika Soni. As per sources, Congress leaders from Jammu and Kashmir also urged Rahul to continue as the party chief.

“They have discussed the upcoming assembly polls in the state along with the reasons for party’s poor performance in the recently held Lok Sabha elections,” said a leader who is closely watching the developments.