Sonia Gandhi upset over Gopalgarh firing, Dhariwal in the line of fire

Jaipur: Congress president Sonia Gandhi is upset by the reports of "mishandling" of the Gopalgarh situation by the state government, sources have revealed.

It is learnt that the Congress chief may soon express her displeasure either by writing or placing a call to chief minister Ashok Gehlot. This comes after the party's central fact-finding team reported administrative lapses in the Gopalgarh incident in which nine persons of the minority community were killed.

While the findings of the report and a communication from the party chief would be quite uncomfortable for Gehlot, it is home minister Shanti Dhariwal who is in the line of fire as the Congress high-command is believed to be particularly miffed over his statement justifying the police firing.

However, Gehlot may get some respite as Delhi's fact-finding team expressed satisfaction about the steps taken by the state government post-incident. But, it has come down heavily on Dhariwal against whom the Meo community of Gopalgarh expressed anger for justifying the police action. The central team not only mentioned this in the report but also verbally briefed party officials in Delhi about it, recommending action against the minister.

"The members of the Meo community had registered their anger about the home minister to the team for justifying the police firing. The committee has mentioned this in their report," a senior congress leader accompanying the delegation said on the condition of anonymity.

The team members have reportedly told 10-Janpath that the home minister should not have justified the police action as he is a senior leader of the party.

The team comprising Rashid Alvi, Deepender Singh Hooda, Viplav Thakur and Vijay Bahuguna had submitted its report to party general secretary and in-charge of Rajasthan Mukul Wasnik. Later, however, they also met Sonia separately.

The fact finding team met locals and district officials in Bharatpur and on the basis of their statements it concluded that there have been police excesses and no pre-emptive steps were taken that could have prevented the situation from going out of control.
With assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh scheduled early next year, Sonia is said to be quite concerned about the Gopalgarh incident, which involved the minority community.

The fact that she decided to send her own fact-finding team to Gopalgarh makes this amply clear.