Sachin Pilot slams CM Gehlot for praising BJP leaders

Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday commented on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, saying that his speech in Dholpur showed his leader is not Sonia Gandhi but Vasundhara Raje Scindia. Earlier Gehlot had claimed that Vasundhara Raje was among BJP leaders who helped him to save his government during the revolt by Pilot and some Congress MLAs in 2020 seeking change in leadership in the state.

Addressing a press conference, Pilot also said that he has now understood why Gehlot has not acted on his allegations of corruption during the BJP government in the state.

“After listening to Ashok Gehlot’s speech in Dholpur, it seems like his leader is not Sonia Gandhi but Vasundhara Raje Scindia. For the first time, I am seeing someone criticize MPs and MLAs of their own party. Praising leaders from BJP and dishonouring Congress leaders is beyond my understanding, this is absolutely wrong,” Pilot said.

Pilot’s attack amounts to an escalation of his conflict with Gehlot in the crucial state which will go to the polls by the end of this year. The attack on Gehlot came a day before polling in Karnataka polls in which Congress is fighting a crucial battle.

Pilot,a former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister, announced that he will hold a five-day-long ‘Jan Sangarsh Yatra’ from Ajmer to Jaipur starting 11 May.

Pilot had held a day-long fast last month, even as the party leadership had cautioned him against it, over his demand for action by the Gehlot government for alleged corruption during the BJP rule in the state.

BJP leader Vasundhara Raje had countered Ashok Gehlot’s claims, saying Rajasthan Chief Minister is lying out of fear of losing the 2023 Assembly elections and his false allegations show he is rattled by the rebellion in state Congress unit.

Gehlot had credited Vasundhara Raje and two other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for having helped him save his government during the 2020 crisis when some Congress MLAs revolted.

“Gehlot’s statement against me is a conspiracy. Nobody can insult me as much as Gehlot has done. He is lying out of fear of losing the 2023 Assembly elections and has made such false allegations as he is rattled by the rebellion in his own party,” Raje had said.

Addressing a programme in Dholpur on Sunday, Gehlot alleged that there was a conspiracy against his government.