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By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot will begin his five-day long ‘Jan Sangharsh Padyatra’ from Ajmer district on May 11. The yatra, in a way, may lead to the culmination of the longstanding ongoing political battle between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy which has lasted for almost the entire current tenure of the Congress dispensation in Rajasthan.
The two have been at loggerheads for the chief minister’s chair and indulged often in open condemnation, throwing barbs and leveling insinuations at each other.
In a press conference called at his official 11, Civil Lines residence in Jaipur, Pilot categorically stated that he believes BJP’s Vasundhara Raje, and not Sonia Gandhi, is Gehlot’s leader.
Also Read | Not Sonia, Raje is Gehlot’s leader, says Sachin Pilot, announces ‘Jan Sangharsh Yatra’
The statement came after Ashok Gehlot publicly claimed that Vasundhara Raje was one of the three BJP MLAs who helped save his government.
“It is clear Sonia is not Gehlot’s leader. It is clear that Vasundhara is Gehlot’s leader. I want to clarify that I and my colleagues wanted leadership change. We conveyed our sentiments. A committee was formed. Late Ahmed Patel was a part of it,” Sachin Pilot, mentioned.
In this election year, the stinging accusation by Ashok Gehlot accusing those MLAs from the Pilot faction, who left Rajasthan in 2020 and went away to Manesar, of accepting bribe money from Amit Shah in a bid to topple his government, has left Pilot publicly fuming and perhaps deciding enough is enough.
“I was called a lot of names. Corona, traitor, useless. Own leaders are being insulted. BJP leaders are being applauded (by Gehlot). I categorically reject the allegations leveled (by Gehlot). To accuse those leaders who have been in public life for 30, 40 years of getting sold for few rupees is very wrong,” Pilot stated.
Pilot, who sat on a symbolic fast on April 11, has been considering his options, some of which can hurt the Congress’ chances in Rajasthan significantly if pursued decisively.
Also Read | Congress needs to be united: Rajasthan minister after Ashok Gehlot’s Vasundhara Raje bomshell
Political experts in the desert state believe that the likelihood of the former Rajasthan deputy CM joining the BJP is extremely slim. Pilot has himself often confided that he will not be joining the BJP which he considers to be a party not in sync with the ideals that he and his father Rajesh Pilot have thus far pursued in Rajasthan.
However, if the Congress decides to take action against him including expelling him from the party for his recent outbursts against the sitting chief minister, Pilot can, perhaps announce the formation of his own front and decide to go to the elections in an alliance with the likes of Aam Aadmi Party and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party.
“Several said that resignations of party MLAs were engineered at the behest of Shah, Modi. Does it behoove well if I say that from the stage? For the last 1.5 years, I have been writing letters for getting cases of corruption from Vasundhara’s tenure investigated. But now I know why they are not being investigated. Now, I am hopeless,” Pilot said.
Pilot maintained that he will take out the Yatra from Ajmer towards Jaipur, which he claimed has been the epicentre of corruption issues in Rajasthan, in the context of paper leak cases as the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) office is there.
Also Read | Sachin Pilot continues attack on Rajasthan govt over exam paper leak cases, demands action
“Because RPSC is there, I will take out a Jan Sangharsh Yatra from Ajmer. It will be a 125 km yatra from Ajmer to Jaipur. Yatra will be for around 5 days long. Some people want to weaken the party. But our stand against corruption will not change,” Pilot proclaimed.
Pilot, who sat on a symbolic fast on April, 11 had mentioned that he had not accused Ashok Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje of collusion but demanded that cases of corruption against the erstwhile BJP government, which both he and Gehlot spoke about publicly while the Congress was in opposition from 2013 till 2018, should be investigated.
The ongoing tussle in Rajasthan between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot is one in which the party high command, at least for the time being, is finding it difficult to get too deeply involved. It is in a catch-22 as taking sides in favour of either leader openly can antagonize the other and cause a setback to the party’s chances in the run-up to crucial assembly elections in Rajasthan.
To the accusations of being involved in anti-party activities, Pilot hit back saying that anti-party activities were done by those who defied Sonia Gandhi’s diktat by sabotaging the Congress Legislature Party Meeting (CLP) in September last year.
Also Read | Ashok Gehlot’s big claim: ‘Vasundhara Raje, 2 BJP leaders helped save my govt in 2020’
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