Rajasthan truce sealed, Ashok Gehlot talks ‘peace, brotherhood’ in party

The change in tune is in stark contrast to the belligerence shown by Ashok Gehlot while attacking his former Number 2 in the government in the not too distant past.

Peace and brotherhood will remain in party, underscored Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday, a day after Sachin Pilot sealed a truce deal with the party high command that also promised to look into the issues raised by him against the state CM.

The patch up in the party came ahead of an assembly session in Rajasthan on August 14. (ANI photo)

“If any MLA is annoyed with me, then it is my responsibility to address that. I have kept doing this in the past and will do this now also,” CM Gehlot told reporters before leaving for Jaisalmer, where the MLAs were moved fearing poaching by the BJP.

The change in tune is in stark contrast to the belligerence shown by Gehlot while attacking his former Number 2 in the government in the not too distant past. Using particularly harsh language against the young Pilot, Gehlot called him “nikamma, nakkara”.

“I imbibed certain values from my family, no matter how much I oppose anyone, I’ve never used such language. Ashok Gehlot ji is elder to me and I respect him personally, but I have the right to raise work-related concerns,” Sachin Pilot told reporters today.

On Monday, Pilot met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to end the revolt in the state unit that threatened the survival of the Ashok Gehlot government. The patch up in the party came ahead of an assembly session in Rajasthan on August 14. Pilot was sacked as deputy chief minister and removed as Congress chief in Rajasthan last month after his differences with Gehlot came to a head.

“Peace and brotherhood will remain in our party. A three-member committee has been formed (by Congress) to resolve the grievances. The BJP tried its best to topple the government, but in the end, all our party MLAs are together, not even one has left us,” said CM Gehlot this morning.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi decided on Monday to form a three-member committee to look into grievances of its rebel leaders in Rajasthan.

The panel at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) level will have senior leaders as its members and it will “hear all the sides and also go into the details of the political turmoil” in the state.

The committee will also discuss the possible changes in the organisation and the government, a Congress leader said, adding that the names of the committee members and the timeframe will be announced soon.