Sachin Pilot takes dig at Gehlot, seeks action against ‘rebel; MLAs

On Wednesday, Congress leader Sachin Pilot once more made it clear that he and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot do not get along. Pilot also stated that he anticipates the party’s new president, Mallikarjun Kharge, to take action against the Congress MLAs in the state who rebelled against the party.

“The Congress is an old party with the same rules for everyone, no matter how senior. I am sure new president Mallikarjun Kharge will take action,” Pilot told reporters in Jaipur, adding that party observer KC Venugopal had said a decision on “the Rajasthan situation” will be taken soon too.

“Ajay Maken and Kharge (observers) have taken the matter seriously and assessing it, the AICC observed that it’s a case of indiscipline. The party had sent notices to three and it came to know that they have already responded. But since the Congress is an old party with the same rules for everyone, action will be taken against them soon,” the former Rajasthan deputy CM said.

He said, however, that Gehlot had apologised to Sonia Gandhi, the party’s then-leader, for the disobedience his supporters displayed.

Several Gehlot-aligned MLAs filed resignation letters in September in response to a potential plan to choose Pilot as the next chief minister. Gehlot was the front-runner for the position of Congress national president at the time. Gehlot later declared that he would not run for president of Congress because he accepted moral accountability for the state’s political problems.

In response to the chief minister’s accolades from the prime minister, Pilot took a dig at Gehlot.

“It’s interesting that the PM praised (CM) yesterday. It mustn’t be taken lightly. Because the PM similarly praised Gulam Nabi Azad in the Parliament and we all saw what happened,” he said.

Gehlot claimed on Tuesday that Modi enjoys respect throughout the world because he governs a nation with a long history of democracy. Speaking at a public event at Mangarh Dham in Banswara, Rajasthan, Gehlot claimed that India has written history for the world since democracy is still thriving there more than 70 years after the nation gained its freedom.