Cong leadership not very keen on further action against Maderna

The Congress leadership in Rajasthan appears to be jittery to take further action —including expulsion from the party — against sacked Minister Mahipal Maderna, an accused in Bhanwari Devi case and presently in the custody of CBI.

According to party sources, any stringent action against Maderna, would have an adverse impact on Jats, as many Jat Congress leaders of the party thinks such an action would further annoyed the community, which is not happy with the Congress for one or the other reason.

Maderna was suspended from the primary membership of the party, the day he was summoned by CBI for questioning in the middle of last month. As he has now been made accused in the chargesheet and is under arrest, the general feeling among in rank and file of the party is that he should expelled from the party. “Though he is involved in the case in his individual capacity, it has tarnished the image of the party as he is one of the senior leaders of the party,” said a senior party leader, who is willing to be quoted.

Despite his suspension from the party, Maderna is still very much a member of the Congress Legislature Party(CLP) and only a leader of the CLP, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot could suspend or expel him.

Barring a small time Jat leader, so far no prominent leader of the community has come out in support of Maderna.

The day Maderna was arrested Adrash Jat Mahasabha, a body of handpicked supporters of Maderna, announced to stage a dharna in front of the Collector’s office at Jodhpur on Saturday. But the programme was postponed without citing any reason. Party sources said that as an activist of the Mahasabha could not mobilise enough support, they decided not to hold such a dharna. But those who keep watch on Jat politics, opined that further margining of Maderna, would cost the party heavily.

Two influential Jat families — Madernas and Mirdhas —have been dominating politics in western Rajasthan for the past 50 years. Parasram Maderna, father of Mahipal Maderna and late RN Mirdha, at the peak of their political carriers were front runners for the post of Chief Minister. Though they could not make it, their control over the regional politics continued.

Both families are closely related to each as a sister of Mahipal Maderna is married to Harender Mirdha, former Minister and AICC secretary, who is son of RN Mirdha. when senior Maderna, first as PCC president and later Speaker of the assembly, was enjoying the power in Jaipur, junior Maderna was Zila Pramukh of Jodhpur nearly for a decade, before he entered the Assembly in 2003, as a replacement for his father. His wife Leela is now chairperson of Apex Cooperative Bank and daughter Divya is member of Zila Parishad

Now young Diya has taken over the responsibility to mobilise support for her father. She addressed a gathering of Jats on Saturday and Sunday, in which she virtually declared a war against the Government for implicating her father in the case to finish him politically.