Ex-deputy chief minister of Rajasthan and Congress leader Sachin Pilot mounted a severe attack on the RSS and BJP on Tuesday as he began his two-day intensive campaign in support of party candidates contesting bypolls in the crucial Gwalior-Chambal region.
The young leader however refrained from naming or attacking Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia—considered his close friend—during his three initial campaign meets in Shivpuri and Morena districts.
In the caste-sensitive constituencies, Pohri and Karera of Shivpuri district, Pilot said that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar made provisions of reservation for the poor, backward and oppressed class of the society.
“But these people [BJP] have repeatedly challenged this. The incident of April 2 (2018) was not a trivial incident. It was a display of that mindset which has the power to snatch the rights of the poor and oppressed. This mindset draws its power from Nagpur [indicating the RSS] that knows how to make puppets out of governments. People with such mindsets have again formed a government here through backdoor tactics. These are two different mindsets [of BJP and Congress] and you have to choose wisely among them,” Pilot said at the campaign meeting in Pohri.
On April 2, 2018, a dalit settlement in Gwalior had been attacked during a ‘Bharat Bandh’ call against dilution of provisions of SC/ST Atrocities Act, 1989. Seven people were killed in the incident that led to deep unrest among the backward communities in the region and found echo across the country.
The campaign by Pilot, who himself rebelled in neighbouring Rajasthan against chief minister Ashok Gehlot and lost the posts of state Congress committee chief and deputy chief minister, is being watched with interest because of his closeness to Scindia. When Pilot had gone incommunicado with 15 MLAs, it was said that he was in touch with Scindia and there were strong attempts to get him to switch over to the BJP. Pilot however was persuaded back to the party following intervention of the Gandhi family.
In the campaign meets on Tuesday, Pilot said that the people in the region very well knew why and how bypolls were imposed upon them. He also said that the beauty of democracy was that leaders might get a lot of power and money but they have to return to people with folded hands to seek their vote and also rub their noses before them.
Addressing a gathering in Jaura of Morena, Pilot said that Madhya Pradesh witnessed major scams like Vyapam and mining scam. “People sent back Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP home after that. But due to greed of power, they have again entered the house of power through the backdoor. Chouhan was made CM thrice by the people of the state, he was given a lot of respect. But what did he do. There was no action even after the Vyapam scam and murders and mining scam,” he said.
Pilot also termed the farm laws amendment by the central government as a big attack on the farmers, who he said will lose the facility of agriculture produce markets and minimum support price and agriculture labourers will lose work.
Later in the evening, Pilot was scheduled to address two campaign meets in Gwalior district. On October 28, the young leader is scheduled to campaign for Congress candidates in Morena of Morena district, Mehgaon and Gohad in Bhind district and Dabra in Gwalior district. He will also address the media on Wednesday evening in Gwalior.
