A senior Rajasthan Congress leader said the plantation drive was being conducted across 200 assembly constituencies to celebrate Sachin Pilot’s birthday and the target was to plant 1 million trees across the state
PUBLISHED ON SEP 07, 2021 10:24 AM IST
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot’s supporters are planting hundreds of thousands of trees across the state to mark his birthday on Tuesday and also to send a political message that the Congress leader enjoys support throughout Rajasthan.
Pilot, who turned 44, will be meeting his supporters and party workers at his residence in Jaipur from 11 am onwards amid continuing tensions with the state unit of the Congress over the delay in cabinet rejig. Pilot’s supporters feel they have been hard done by chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who, they believe, has resisted efforts to share power with the disgruntled group.
Former general secretary of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Mahesh Sharma said the plantation drive was being conducted across 200 assembly constituencies to celebrate Pilot’s birthday and the target was to plant 1 million trees across the state.
Pilot’s supporters said it will be a record-breaking exercise, surpassing the single-day record of planting 611,000 saplings in 2009 by a team of volunteers led by the then Dungarpur district magistrate.
A minister in Gehlot’s cabinet said that “Pilot was making all efforts to maintain his relevance and this was not the first time that he was trying to remain in ‘charcha’ (public discourse).”
On Pilot’s last birthday, around 45,000 units of blood were collected in 400 donation camps.
Political analyst Manish Godha said the effort was to show his strength and how much people support him. Such a program, especially during the ongoing political crisis, was a message to the party high command that Pilot has mass support.
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