The power tussle in Rajasthan on Tuesday reached breakpoint with the Congress sacking Sachin Pilot as deputy chief minister and state party president, the development making it imminent that the party could soon see the exit of yet another young leader just a few months after Jyotiraditya Scindia parted ways.
Pilot, who was engaged in a bitter tug of war with Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot, had over the last three days, openly revolted against the party leadership. His refusal to attend the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meetings two days in a row, indicating his defiance, in addition to the open revolt, resulted in the party's action against him.
A resolution was passed at the CLP meeting on Tuesday, seeking strong action against Pilot and his supporting MLAs. Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena, who have openly sided with Pilot, were also sacked as ministers.
The Congress, which till Monday sent out signals that it was willing to listen to Pilot's grievances, on Tuesday accused him of plotting, along with the BJP to try and topple the Gehlot government. “It is sad that Pilot and other MLAs got involved in the BJP's conspiracy to topple the Congress government in the state. This is not acceptable. It is with a sad heart that the Congress party has taken some decisions,” AICC Communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala told reporters after the CLP meeting was over.
The party insisted that Pilot was given ample opportunities to come and resolve differences with Gehlot. According to party sources, the central leadership was keen to resolve the issues raised by Pilot, which included his side-lining by Gehlot in decision-making and the perceived attempts to render him powerless, including taking away the PCC chief's post from him.
The last straw for the young leader, it is learnt, was the summons served on him by the Special Operations Group (SOG) probing allegations of BJP's attempts to destabilise the Gehlot government. What infuriated Pilot was the FIR that was based on an intercepted conversation between two persons arrested in the case. The intercept referred to differences between Pilot and Gehlot and the former's claims to the chief minister's post.
The political crisis that the Congress finds itself in Rajasthan at present has its beginnings in December 2018, when after the party won the Assembly elections, the central leadership chose Gehlot over Pilot for the chief minister's post. Pilot, say his supporters, felt cheated as he had since 2013, when was sent there as PCC chief, worked hard to build a momentum against the then Vasundhara Raje government. While the Congress had not declared a chief ministerial candidate in the assembly elections, he was widely seen as the face of the party.
The Pilot camp, in a statement on Tuesday, said the “public humiliation” of the leader was totally unacceptable. Pilot's associates wrote that they were taking a stand to protect their dignity and self-respect at a time when their leader was threatened with notices from the SOG under the charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy.
