Amidst talks of the BJP trying to poach Congress MLAs in Rajasthan and destabilising the Ashok Gehlot government, the running feud between Chief Minister Gehlot and his deputy, Sachin Pilot, is at the fore yet again. Pilot landed in Delhi with his supporting MLAs, giving rise to intense speculations on his next moves. Pilot reached the national capital with around 20 MLAs.
Pilot was not available for comment, but it is learnt that the deputy chief minister could air his grievances with regard to his alleged sidelining in the state of affairs in Rajasthan to the Congress leadership.
It is well known that Pilot has been upset over being passed over for the post of chief minister after the party won the assembly elections in Rajasthan under his leadership in 2018. The party high command preferred to hand over the reins to the experienced Gehlot, and Pilot had to settle for the post of deputy chief minister.
However, the friction between the two leaders has been palpable, and the Pilot camp intensified its attacks on Gehlot following the party's whitewash in the Lok Sabha elections. Even with regard to the anti-COVID-19 measures taken by the Rajasthan government, Gehlot and Pilot appeared to be carrying out parallel efforts. According to those in the Pilot camp, the deputy chief minister is aggrieved over being sidelined in the decision-making, and Gehlot not being amenable to sharing the limelight with his deputy.
Pilot's moves are being watched closely, especially in the backdrop of Gehlot having alleged that the BJP is trying to repeat in Rajasthan what it achieved in Madhya Pradesh, referring to the toppling of the Kamal Nath government by taking the help of aggrieved young Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections on June 19, Gehlot had accused the BJP of making efforts to lure the MLAs of the ruling party and had sequestered them at a hotel till the elections were held. Pilot had then offered a public assurance, while sharing stage with Gehlot, that the two Congress nominees for the upper house polls will win with more than expected numbers.
In his press conference, Gehlot referred to an FIR being lodged in the matter of BJP's attempts to poach Congress MLAs, based on an intercepted conversation between two leaders allegedly affiliated to the BJP. The intercept allegedly references the infighting within the Congress and the ego clash between Gehlot and Pilot. With political activity in Jaipur gaining pace, Gehlot held a meeting with his ministerial colleagues and legislators late Saturday evening. According to sources close to Pilot, he has maintained that he will never go the Scindia way and will continue his struggle by remaining in the party.
The Special Operations Group of Rajasthan Police registered the FIR on the basis of the intercepted conversation and issued notices to Gehlot and Pilot as also Mahesh Joshi, the Congress' chief whip in the Assembly, to record their statements with regard to the allegations of attempts to destabilise the government. The notice is said to have upset Pilot as it was seen as a way of humiliating him.
What is happening in Rajasthan?
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accused the opposition BJP of trying to topple his government by offering his legislators large sums of money. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were unable to "tolerate" him or his government and were therefore planning a conspiracy. Rejecting Gehlot's allegations, BJP state president Satish Poonia said the political situation in the state was the result of in-fighting in the Congress and the chief minister was just trying to shift the blame.
Several Congress ministers and party legislators met Gehlot at his residence late on Saturday, with media reports taking note of the absence of members of the Pilot faction. Urban Development and Housing Minister Shanti Dhariwal, Health Minister Raghu Sharma, Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Labour Minister Tikaram Jully, among others, visited Gehlot. Apart from Congress MLAs, independent MLAs also met the chief minister.
The BJP on Saturday dared Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to prove his allegation of horse-trading levelled or quit politics, and claimed he was targeting the opposition party as he was unable the check the in-fighting in the state Congress.
Taking a swipe as the chief minister, Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat alleged that Gehlot had come up a with a "cooked-up story" with an intention to defame Congress' state president and deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot for his personal political gains. "The chief minister himself was the script writer, producer, director, actor and villain of this film," said Shekhawat, asking Gehlot to bring out the list of the MLAs, whom he considered "saleable".
Leader of opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said the chief minister should handle his party's internal crisis and should stop making "false accusations" against the BJP. "The chief minister appeared dejected in the press conference today and the people of the entire state saw that he has touched a low. The chief minister is not able to handle the infighting in the Congress," Kataria told reporters through a video conference.
