Rajasthan Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Ashok Chandna has sought to step down, while expressing displeasure over the bureaucracy. Mr. Chandna appealed to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to relieve him from his ministerial post.
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Mr. Chandna made his displeasure public through a tweet late on May 26, holding Mr. Gehlot’s Principal Secretary responsible for the situation.
“I am making a personal request to the honourable Chief Minister to relieve me from this humiliating ministerial post and give the charge of all my departments to [Principal Secretary] Mr. Kuldeep Ranka. He is anyway the Minister of all the departments,” Mr. Chandna tweeted in Hindi.
The display of anger by Mr. Chandna, considered close to Mr. Gehlot, indicated the resentment brewing in the ruling Congress against the bureaucratic functioning, just days ahead of the Rajya Sabha election in the State. The party has also been facing rivalry between the factions led by Mr. Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.
However, Mr. Gehlot told reporters on the sidelines of a function here on Friday that Mr. Chandna might have been facing pressure because of the upcoming Rural Olympic Games, for which an announcement was made in the 2021-22 State Budget. “It is not a serious issue... We will sort it out,” Mr. Gehlot said.