Pilot camp hits back at Gehlot, demands apology, resignation

The Pilot camp also released a video of former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and current Congress legislator Giriraj Singh Malinga, who on Monday alleged that Pilot had offered him money to join the BJP.

Former Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Hemaram Choudhary on Monday condemned the “intemperate language” used by Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot against his former deputy Sachin Pilot, saying this shows that he is “flustered” by the turn of events in the state.

Gehlot has “hurt the sentiments” of the people of Rajasthan with his remarks against Pilot, and must apologise for them, Sachin Pilot loyalist said. (ANI)

Choudhary, who is one of the 18 Congress MLAs supporting Pilot in his fight against Gehlot, is a former minister and a six-time legislator from the Gudamalani constituency in Barmer. He added that Gehlot has “hurt the sentiments” of the people of Rajasthan with his remarks against Pilot, and must apologise for them.

“This is unfortunate. If he doesn’t apologise, the people of Rajasthan will teach him a lesson and never forgive him for this,” he said, indicating the thinking within the Pilot camp.

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A prominent Jat leader of Rajasthan, Choudhary, in turn, attacked Gehlot for “history of deceiving” those under whom the party had won the assembly elections.

“In the past, we have seen what happened to Parasram Maderna and CP Joshi, and this time Pilot — after the Congress came to power under their leadership. They were overlooked, and Gehlot became the chief minister thrice,” Choudhary said.

Meanwhile, another Pilot loyalist, Vishvendra Singh, who was sacked as a state minister, accused the Rajasthan government of “strangling” democracy.

Assembly speaker CP Joshi has issued disqualification notices to 19 Congress legislators, including Pilot. They have approached the Rajasthan high court against the move. The speaker has told the court he will not take any action on the basis of the notices until 5.30pm on Tuesday. A court verdict in the matter is expected on Tuesday.

Choudhary contended the Congress came to power in the 2018 assembly elections -- when it won 99 seats in the 200-member assembly -- only because of the hard work put in by Pilot after the party was reduced to 21 seats in 2013.

Reiterating that the rebel Congress legislators who are supporting Pilot will not join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said their only demand is the immediate replacement of Gehlot.

“He should resign. The Congress cannot fight the next elections under his leadership. No pre-poll promise or even a single point in manifesto had been fulfilled so far. We are in the Congress and how can we go to the people with him as our leader and when we have given them nothing,” Choudhary said.

Asked why the rebel legislators were not heeding the Congress leadership’s repeated demands to rejoin the “family” and air their grievances within the party fold, he said: “In Rajasthan, there is no democracy in Congress party. It has become Ashok Gehlot’s Congress. And the Congress leadership has shut doors on us by sending the disqualification notices to us. So, what do we do?”

Choudhary also said the audio tapes that were leaked on social media -- they purportedly indicate a plot to bring down the Congress government in the state -- were “fabricated” to malign the Pilot loyalists.

“We have not done anything wrong and are not scared of any threats. We have not done anything against the party and our only demand is to change the leadership in Rajasthan. I want to tell all that we will definitely emerge victorious,” Vishvendra Singh said.

The Pilot camp also released a video of former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and current Congress legislator Giriraj Singh Malinga, who on Monday alleged that Pilot had offered him money to join the BJP.

In the video, Malinga was seen refuting claims that he was offered money during the June 19 Rajya Sabha elections. At that time, Malinga had dismissed media reports that he was offered to vote against the party candidate in the polls. The Congress won two Rajya Sabha seats while the BJP bagged one.