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‘Rahul’s praise shouldn’t upset anyone’: Sachin Pilot’s polite counter to Gehlot
Sachin Pilot recalled how the Congress won the 2018 elections after being decimated in the 2013 Rajasthan assembly elections, adding that his only target was to ensure a Congress win in 2023
Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s remarks last week, which provoked counter-attacks from chief minister Ashok Gehlot, have brought the uneasy relations between the veteran Congress leader and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot who rebelled against Gehlot in July 2020 under the spotlight
Sachin Pilot on Monday broke his silence on the controversy which has been used by his detractors to underline how close he came to exiting the Congress, saying that Rahul Gandhi’s recent praise for his patience should not upset anyone.
“During a programme in Delhi, former AICC president Rahul Gandhi praised my patience from the dais. Now if he appreciates my patience then no one should unnecessarily be upset with Rahul Gandhi’s statement and should take it in the right spirit,” Pilot told reporters in Tonk to questions about comments by the chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Shekhawat about the July 2020 rebellion.
At a meeting in Chomu town of Jaipur last week, Shekhawat told his audience that work on the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project would have started if Sachin Pilot hadn’t missed the opportunity that he got, an oblique reference to Sachin Pilot leading a rebellion against Gehlot in July 2020 before Pilot ended the revolt - he was supported by 18 lawmakers - a month later on assurances by the party leadership including Rahul Gandhi.
Gehlot said Shekhawat’s remark established that he was the “main character” in the attempt to topple his government via Pilot.
“Now you are taking the name of Sachin Pilot that he missed (opportunity). You have proved it that you were in connivance with him,” the chief minister told reporters in Sikar on Saturday, referring to the court notice to the union minister on a plea filed by investigators probing audio clips of alleged phone conversations that surfaced during the political crisis. In at least one leaked tape, the Congress alleges Shekhawat is heard discussing the move to topple the Gehlot government with a rebel MLA.
BJP leader and deputy leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said the chief minister was back to insulting Pilot. “The chief minister has crossed the limits of insulting. Now he has targeted Pilot on the pretext of hitting Shekhawat,” Rathore said on Sunday, crediting Pilot with taking the insults without reacting.
Asked about Gehlot’s statement on Saturday, Pilot on Sunday said this wasn’t the first time that Gehlot had “spoken about me”.
“Earlier, also the CM said things about me…nakara, nikamma and much more. Ashok Gehlot is an experienced, elderly and fatherly figure, if he says something I don’t take it otherwise,” Pilot said.
The Congress leader said that his only focus was to ensure that the Congress was voted back to power in 2023 and they did hold discussions with senior party leaders such as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi and others in this connection.
Pilot recalled how he steered the party to victory in 2018 after the Congress faced its worst defeat in 2013. “We were hit by lathi (stick) and after a lot of hard work, the party’s government was formed here. Now one and half years are left, and if the party and government work unitedly, the government will repeat,” he said.
Political analyst Manish Godha said, “It seems that the rhetoric is not going to end and this clash of leadership may become bitterer in the coming days as the state has entered into election mode. The party high command should give a clear message to the party workers.”
