In a move that has triggered uproar in a section of the Congress in Rajasthan, the party approved the revocation of the suspension order against former Barmer MLA Mewaram Jain and reinstated the three-time legislator as a primary party member Thursday.
On Saturday, locals in Barmer woke up to hoardings and posters purportedly showing a screen grab from an alleged obscene video of Jain that had gone viral in late 2023 and was said to be among the reasons for his suspension. The hoardings read, “Barmer Congress will notRajasthan tolerate the insult of women”, “We don’t accept rapists” and “Barmer put to shame”.
Besides the viral videos, Jain, along with eight others, had faced a gangrape case in December 2023. Weeks later, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said Jain was suspended from the party “in view of his involvement in immoral activities, which is a clear breach of indiscipline”.
However, in July 2024, a special court in Jodhpur under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act had accepted the police’s final report in the gangrape case, noting that the complainants – a woman, her daughter, and another woman – recanted their statements, which had led to the FIR against Jain and other accused, and claimed their statements were made under duress.
Jain has now claimed that the news of revocation of his suspension was “celebrated like Diwali in Barmer”. After arriving in Barmer Saturday, he said, “The public knows our character… If a narco test is done, toh sabka pata lag jaayega ki kaun kya hai (then everyone will know who is what).”
Congress sources attributed the hoardings critical of Jain to the District Congress Committees (DCCs) of Barmer, Jaisalmer and Balotra. However, the DCCs issued a statement distancing themselves from the hoardings, saying, “Strict legal action will be taken against unknown individuals… This act is entirely the work of unknown and external elements.” Local authorities have since removed the hoardings and launched a probe.
Advocate Sultan Singh, representing Jain, said a complaint has been lodged with the local police over the hoardings. He said the hoardings were put up by “anti-social elements to create disharmony and hatred among castes and religions”.
Gehlot, Harish rivalry
However, a Congress section sees the entire episode in the context of Jain’s proximity to former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Gehlot’s antagonism towards Harish Chaudhary, the party’s sitting MLA from Baytu, which falls in Barmer district.
Chaudhary’s political capital had risen following Ummeda Ram Beniwal’s win from the Barmer Lok Sabha seat in 2024, with the former being instrumental in Beniwal’s defection from the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and his ticket to contest from Barmer as a Congress candidate.
As Chaudhary grew into an influential figure in Barmer, he also publicly took on Jain on numerous occasions, without naming him. Chaudhary cited Jain’s “quick” suspension last year to draw a comparison between the Congress and the ruling BJP, saying that “the Congress doesn’t compromise with moral values”.
Chaudhary, in a reference to Jain, also said he will never maintain relations with “characterless powers” and would leave politics rather than compromise.
Towards the end of Gehlot’s third tenure as the CM, Chaudhary had also often questioned him on various issues, including on “anomalies” in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation, and accused him of backing another party – said to be the RLP – in Barmer. Chaudhary is also seen as close to Gehlot’s bete noire and former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot.
Besides Chaudhary, some other Congress leaders had also been pushing against the party’s bid to reinstate Jain. Congress sources said the party leadership’s decision to revoke his suspension was driven by political exigencies – Jain being a three-term MLA from Barmer besides being considered close to Gehlot.
Officially, Gehlot said the decision must have been taken “after much thought” by the party leadership and after following the necessary protocol. On September 22, the Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had written a letter to Jain, saying that party national president Mallikarjun Kharge himself had approved the reinstatement.
A Congress statement on September 25 said that Jain’s suspension was revoked after a “review” of the case, based on the recommendations of the party’s state disciplinary committee, and with Randhawa’s approval.
However, Jain’s reinstatement appears to have put the brakes on Chaudhary’s rising stature. “He (Chaudhary) is the Congress in-charge of Madhya Pradesh but it is bad optics when you can’t have your way in your own district,” a party leader said. “Moreover, with party chief Dotasra being the tallest Jat leader in the party, Chaudhary naturally posed a threat.”