Gehlot and Pilot our ‘assets’: Rahul Gandhi steers clear of Rajasthan Congress row

Rahul Gandhi on Monday steered clear of the internal turmoil between Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress leader Sachin Pilot, and said that the war of words between the party leaders will not affect the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Calling both Gehlot and Pilot “assets” of the Congress, Gandhi said in Indore, “I don’t want to say anything on their (Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot) comments. Both leaders are assets for us and I can say it won’t affect Bharat Jodo Yatra.”

Last week, Gehlot called Pilot a ‘gaddar’ (traitor), triggering a massive controversy within the party that is aiming for a re-election in next year’s Rajasthan assembly elections.

The Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter Rajasthan on December 5.

Gandhi said the purpose of the foot march is not ‘political’, but one to make the people realise about the “real identity” of India and the country’s “DNA – compassion, affection and mutual respect”.

“India was never a scared country. India is a brave country. When the British came, it was the worst period for the country…the current phase is also quite similar. Compassion, affection and mutual respect is part of India’s culture. Nobody sees anger, hatred and arrogance as our strength. Everybody knows. Even the president of America knows that India is a country of love, affection and mutual respect. In the yatra, I am trying to remind people the real culture and DNA of India,” Gandhi said, calling the yatra a ‘tapasya’.

Also Read:Rumblings continue in Rajasthan Congress day after Gehlot attacks Pilot

Responding to a question on how he will end unemployment, Gandhi said, “Any problem can be resolved by listening to people. In India, wealth is concentrated among just three or four industrialists. A few people are getting all the money and they monopolise every business, whether it’s airports or telecom. Small and medium enterprises are not getting the potential growth as required.”

“We will listen to people and come up with solutions. The BJP and RSS are not listening to people,” he said.

When asked whether he plans to recontest from home turf Amethi in the 2024 general elections, Gandhi said, “I don’t want to distract the purpose of this conference. I want people to talk about the yatra only, not about me contesting elections from Amethi or not. I will answer this question after a year.”