Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday spoke on burying the hatchet with his senior colleague Ashok Gehlot, stating that ‘moving on’ was in the best interest of the party. |
The former Rajasthan deputy chief minister added that he would ‘100 per cent’ campaign for Gehlot's son Vaibhav, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Jalore.
“I saw no advantage in replying in the same coin, I refused to be provoked, chose dignity and grace over name-calling and, more importantly, decided to show a large heart and move on,” Pilot told PTI when asked about Gehlot's ‘nakara' jibe at him.
“I can look back and say with pride, I never used any words that are unbecoming of a public figure, I have never used language that is derogatory because the value system ingrained in me since childhood has taught me to show respect to elders no matter what the circumstances and I always maintained that," Pilot added.
Pilot also recalled the meeting in Delhi last year when he sat down with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and former AICC chief Rahul Gandhi. “I was asked to forgive and forget and move on, which is exactly what I have done, that was the need of the hour for the party and the state."
In the 2018 Rajasthan assembly elections, the Congress had picked Gehlot over Pilot to lead the state. The differences between the two leaders came out in the open in 2020 when 18 MLAs loyal to Pilot staged a protest outside the Raj Bhavan.
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The rebellion was defused after intervention by the Gandhis who agreed to fulfill Pilot's demands. But the tensions between both the Congress leaders continued during the government's stint.
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“A gaddar (traitor) cannot be chief minister... the Congress high command cannot make Sachin Pilot the chief minister... a man who doesn't have 10 MLAs. Who revolted. He betrayed the party, (he) is a traitor", Gehlot had told a TV channel.
In April last year, Pilot had cornered his own government by sitting on a day-long fast in Jaipur against the Gehlot regime's alleged failure in probing corruption that had taken place during the BJP dispensation under Vasundhara Raje between 2013 and 2018.
“A gaddar (traitor) cannot be chief minister... the Congress high command cannot make Sachin Pilot the chief minister... a man who doesn't have 10 MLAs. Who revolted. He betrayed the party, (he) is a traitor", Gehlot had told a TV channel.
In April last year, Pilot had cornered his own government by sitting on a day-long fast in Jaipur against the Gehlot regime's alleged failure in probing corruption that had taken place during the BJP dispensation under Vasundhara Raje between 2013 and 2018.