In a late night statement, on the eve of former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot's one-day Anshan, on April 11, against alleged inaction of the Ashok Gehlot government on corruption in the previous Vasundhara Raje regime, AICC in charge of party affairs in the state Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had termed the protest fast 'anti-party' activity.
However, the party is not rushing into taking action against Pilot and is despite the defiance shown by the leader keen to find a middle path in the long-running tussle for power between Gehlot and Pilot.
This has been evident in the protracted discussions that have taken place in Delhi since April 12, with Randhawa holding several rounds of talks with the central leadership.
According to Congress sources, the directions from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi are that Pilot should be heard out and an attempt should be made to find a resolution to the long-running disputes between Gehlot and Pilot.
Randhawa has repeatedly said in response to media queries that action will be taken and that while there may be nothing wrong with the issue that he has raised, the manner in which he has gone about it is not favourable to the party.
On the day of the fast, the Congress in a surprise announcement even said that AICC General Secretary in charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh would issue a statement on the issue. But no statement was issued, and it is now known that the party is exercising caution in the matter and is willing to hear Pilot's side of the story.
According to party sources, veteran leader Kamal Nath has been roped in to find a way out of the Rajasthan tangle. He is learnt to have held a meeting with Pilot in a bid to bring him on board the discussions. Pilot is learnt to have conveyed his hurt at the issues he had raised with the leadership not getting addressed. He wants there to be clarity on his role in the party as it heads into elections which is just a little more than six months away.
According to sources close to Pilot, how can his Anshan, which was against the corruption that took place during the term of the Vasundhara government, be called 'anti-party'. They also ask why no action has been taken with regard to MLAs not attending a Congress Legislature Party meeting called in Jaipur in September 2022 or whether Gehlot calling Pilot names was not anti-party activity.
According to party sources, a change in leadership cannot be effected so close to elections, and the party has in the backdrop of Pilot's latest act of defiance backed Gehlot and heaped praise on his government for undertaking a slew of welfare measures. However, it also does not want to lose Pilot.
On the agenda of the ongoing talks is how to balance the need to keep the focus on Gehlot's welfare-centric governance and pitch it as the main poll plank for the polls with the aspirations of Pilot and ensure he is not left out in the cold.
Gehlot, on the other hand, has refused to comment on Pilot. According to sources close to Gehlot, the chief minister does not want to join issue with Pilot since it is felt that it would distract from the effort being made by him to bring to the centre of the poll discourse his government's welfare measures.
