“I couldn’t make my party win,” BJP leader Kirodi Lal Meena quits as Rajasthan minister; Congress asks “Will govt survive”?

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], July 4 (ANI): Rajasthan BJP leader Kirodi Lal Meena on Thursday announced his resignation from the state cabinet and all posts.

Meena said that he had decided to step down to honour the promise he made during campaigning in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that he would quit if the BJP lost any of the seven seats in eastern Rajasthan, including the Dausa Lok Sabha seat.

The 72-year-old leader who is a two-time Lok Sabha MP said, “I announced that if I won’t be able to make my party win, I’ll resign, and I have done that. It is my moral duty that I should resign if my party doesn’t win. I met the CM as well, and he rejected my resignation, but still, I sent my resignation by post…I will go to Delhi tomorrow…”

The Congress-led NDA block had won eight of the 25 seats in the recent parliamentary elections while the BJP won 14 seats in the State. In the Dausa Lok Sabha seat, Congress’s Murari Lal Meena had defeated BJP’s Kanhaiya Lal Meena with a margin of over 2.3 lakh votes.

“It is my moral duty that I should resign if my party doesn’t win. I met the CM as well, but he has rejected my resignation… I have no complaints and no expectations for any post, neither from the CM nor from the organisation…” Meena said after announcing his decision to step down.

The former Rajya Sabha MP said, “…Despite working actively for the last 10-12 years, I couldn’t make my party win in those areas where I have some impact. The (party) High Command has asked me to come to Delhi tomorrow, I will go there and try to convince them as I have announced that if I won’t be able to make my party win, I’ll resign, and I have done that.”

He further stated that he had submitted his resignation to the Rajasthan Chief Minister 20 days ago but it was rejected.

Reacting to Meena’s announcement, State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara said, “A few BJP leaders are making allegations that some seats were sold (to candidates) without their knowledge, but responsibility to win on those seats were given to them. So how could they make the party win on these seats?”

“People like Kirodi Lal Meena say that some seats were given (to candidates) without their knowledge, but they were told that the party must win on those seats…BJP central leadership is not meeting him, he’s not being respected even when he contributed to the party’s victory in the state. Talks about whether or not the government will survive are doing the rounds in the state…” the Rajasthan Congress chief said.

Meena held the agriculture and rural development portfolios under Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Singh’s cabinet.

Lal announced his decision to resign while he was participating in a religious event in the Mansarovar area of Jaipur.