Jaipur: The Rajasthan government, congested by a series of recent controversies, is being revamped. The ministers in Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's cabinet have resigned this afternoon so that a new council of ministers can be announced.
Heading the list of scandals that has undermined the credibility of the Congress government is the disappearance of a nurse named Bhanwari Devi in September. Two Congress leaders - one of them a former minister - have acknowledged to the CBI that they had affairs with her. Mahipal Maderna, who was a minister till last month, was allegedly filmed with Bhanwari Devi; a CD was circulated when she went missing from her home near Jodhpur. Bhanwari Devi was a Dalit; Mr Maderna is a towering leader of the Jaat community.
The Gehlot government has also been hit by the police firing on Meo Muslims in Gopalgarh in September. At least 10 Meos were killed in the police firing which followed clashes with the rival Gujjar community over a disputed piece of land.
The Meos, like the Jaats, are a critical vote bank for the Congress. Former home minister Shanti Dhariwal's handling of the crisis had come in for much criticism. The Congress has been apprehensive of the political fallout, particularly since the region borders Uttar Pradesh which is scheduled to go to polls early next year.
Along with the Bhanwari Devi and Gopalgarh crises, the party also had to deal with the resignation of another minister Ram Lal Jat who quit over alleged links with another woman Paras Devi.
There were 16 Cabinet ministers and 11 Ministers of State in the Gehlot government.
Heading the list of scandals that has undermined the credibility of the Congress government is the disappearance of a nurse named Bhanwari Devi in September. Two Congress leaders - one of them a former minister - have acknowledged to the CBI that they had affairs with her. Mahipal Maderna, who was a minister till last month, was allegedly filmed with Bhanwari Devi; a CD was circulated when she went missing from her home near Jodhpur. Bhanwari Devi was a Dalit; Mr Maderna is a towering leader of the Jaat community.
The Gehlot government has also been hit by the police firing on Meo Muslims in Gopalgarh in September. At least 10 Meos were killed in the police firing which followed clashes with the rival Gujjar community over a disputed piece of land.
The Meos, like the Jaats, are a critical vote bank for the Congress. Former home minister Shanti Dhariwal's handling of the crisis had come in for much criticism. The Congress has been apprehensive of the political fallout, particularly since the region borders Uttar Pradesh which is scheduled to go to polls early next year.
Along with the Bhanwari Devi and Gopalgarh crises, the party also had to deal with the resignation of another minister Ram Lal Jat who quit over alleged links with another woman Paras Devi.
There were 16 Cabinet ministers and 11 Ministers of State in the Gehlot government.
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