Will quit CM post moment Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi ask me to do so, says Baghel

New Delhi/ Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday said Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have entrusted him with the responsibility of running the state government and he will quit the moment they ask him to do so. On his return to Raipur, a day after meeting Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, he also said that those seeking rotation of the CM's post are creating political instability in the state.

Baghel was accorded a rousing reception on his arrival at the Raipur airport by a large crowd of supporters who had gathered there, displaying a show of strength.

Chief Minister Baghel and Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo on Wednesday morning separately met All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal amid an on ongoing power tussle between them.

Sources said that Bhagel and Deo held consultations with Venugopal over the alleged differences between them, besides development issues in Chhattisgarh.

The two Chhattisgarh Congress leaders are likely to hold further deliberations with the AICC leadership in the near future, they added.

"I have said in the past that when the high command orders, I will quit the post. No one should have any doubt. Those who are talking about two and a half years, they are trying to bring political instability and they will never succeed," Bhagel told reporters at the airport. "As far as the incumbent state government is concerned, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have entrusted the responsibility to a farmer like me. I am happy about it. This government is of farmers, tribals, labourers and 2.8 crore people of the state. The government is functioning well," he said. Deo has claimed that according to an agreement made after the Congress came to power in Chhattisgarh in 2018, he should have got the the chief minister's post after 2.5 years. Bhagel has denied the claim.

According to sources in the Congress, the differences between Baghel and his rival, Deo, would be soon resolved.