Jaipur: Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday reminded the party that it was yet to decide on the action to be taken against Rajasthan leaders who pushed the state into a political crisis in September, saying it can’t be the case that the party makes out a case of indiscipline, issues notice and then doesn’t decide on the punishment.
“I am sure the new president Mallikarjun Kharge will take action,” Pilot told reporters outside his house in Jaipur. The remark, made in response to a question by reporters, was an attack on Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot. Pilot pointedly recalled that Gehlot apologised to the party and former chief Sonia Gandhi for the defiance of the 92 legislators who skipped a legislative party meeting on September 25 that was expected to formalise the transfer of power.
Pilot also described PM Modi’s remarks at an event about Gehlot as “very interesting”, and slipped in a word of caution to the party leadership, noting that the prime minister had also praised Ghulam Nabi Azad, the veteran Jammu and Kashmir leader who exited the Congress and set up his party.
“I find the praise by PM Modi (on CM Gehlot) very interesting. The PM had similarly praised Ghulam Nabi Azad in Parliament. We all saw what happened after that. It was an interesting development, and shouldn’t be taken lightly,” Pilot added.
At an event in south Rajasthan’s Banswara, PM Modi noted that he had worked with Gehlot when he was the Gujarat chief minister as well. “Ashok ji (Gehlot) and I had worked together as CMs. He was the most senior in our lot of CMs. Ashok ji is still one of the senior-most CMs among those who are sitting on the stage right now,” he told the gathering.
Gehlot responded to Sachin Pilot’s barbs from Alwar where he was on a tour, quoting AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal’s advice to party leaders not to give such statements and maintain discipline and focus on retaining the government in Rajasthan elections expected next year.
“We also want that all should maintain discipline… Currently, we should have only one objective… the public is suffering in the country…there is tension, violence, inflation and unemployment; and for the same Rahul Gandhi is working hard walking several kilometres every day to mount pressure on the government of India.”
Sachin Pilot’s reminder to the party comes weeks after the three Gehlot loyalists were issued notice for leading the rebellion to block a move by the party to formalise the transfer of power to Sachin Pilot in the state by passing a resolution authorising Gandhi to pick the next CM in the event that Ashok Gehlot was elected as party president.
But 92 Congress skipped the Congress legislative party meeting convened on September 25 after Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, who were designated as central observers for the meeting. In their report to the party leadership authored by Kharge and Maken, the central observers gave a clean chit to Gehlot but criticised the role of three leaders close to the chief minister; parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal, chief whip of the party in Rajasthan Mahesh Joshi, and chairman of the state tourism corporation Dharmendra Rathore.
Gehlot later took moral responsibility for the political crisis, saying there was a need to study why MLAs resented the change of guard. Usually, when a new chief minister is to be appointed, a majority of MLAs support the new candidate. “But, it was a new case in Rajasthan where the MLAs got agitated just by the name of the new chief minister,” Gehlot told reporters in September.
