Focus on ensuring Cong success: Pilot on Raj CM’s barbs
JAIPUR: Days after Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot targeted his former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, by saying it was evident the BJP was with the latter during his 2020 rebellion, Pilot responded and said his focus was on ensuring Congress retains power in the state.
“Earlier also, the CM had spoken about me saying naakara (incompetent) , nikamma (useless) and much more. Ashok Gehlot is an experienced and fatherly figure, if he says something I don’t take it otherwise,” Pilot said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters during an event in Tonk, Pilot said that at a function in Delhi, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had praised his (Pilot’s) patience, and that this should not be upsetting anyone. “Now, if he appreciates my patience then no one should unnecessarily be upset with Rahul Gandhi’s statement...”
Pilot was the Rajasthan party chief when the Congress returned to power in the state in
2018, and was keen on the CM’s post which went to party veteran Gehlot. In 2020, he and a group of legislators rebelled, but Gehlot managed to keep his flock together.
Last week, in a meeting in Jaipur, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that Pilot had committed a chook (an error) during the political crisis, and that if he hadn’t, work on Eastern Rajasthan Canal project (ERCP) would have begun.
On Saturday, speaking in Sikar, Gehlot said, “Ab aap jo Sachin Pilot ka naam le rahe ho, ki unhone chook kar di, toh aur proof ho gaya, thappa laga diya aapne khudne ki aap unke saath mile hue thhe (You are taking Sachin Pilot’s name that he made a mistake, this is further proof, you admit that you were hand in glove with him).”