New Delhi: Even as Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday began his Jan Sangharsh Padayatra from Ajmer to Jaipur to highlight corruption and other issues, senior leaders in the party feel that he crossed the line when he held a press conference a day ahead of Karnataka polling.
Pilot, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan has been attacking Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over several issues.
On May 9, while addressing a press conference in Jaipur, he had said, “I think his (Gehlot’s) leader is (former Chief Minister and BJP leader) Vasundhara Raje and not (former Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi.
On the timing of the press conference of Pilot, a senior member of the Congress disciplinary committee feels that he has crossed the line this time, sources said.
The source said that the senior member of the party’s disciplinary committee feel that he went too far this time.
“He held a press conference on May 9, just a day before the crucial Karnataka Assembly polls, which incidentally collided with the visit of Rahul Gandhi to Rajasthan,” the source said.
The source also said that the timing of Pilot’s press conference was not good in view of the polling in Karnataka just a day later, where the party had run a spirited campaign to come back to power.
The source also said that during the entire Karnataka campaign, the Congress had presented a united face by bringing the two warring leaders — former Chief Minister Siddaramaih and Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar — together.
Rahul Gandhi was on a day-long visit to Rajasthan on May 9 where he participated in the party’s training programme in Mount Abu.
The source said that Pilot’s press conference on May 9 gave a clear message of a deeply divided house.
The source said, however, the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee is yet to decide on the issue.
Another party source said that some senior leaders had also urged Pilot to postpone his on May 9 press conference for a few days. However, he went ahead with his plans and did not pay heed to the request of senior leaders from Delhi.
On May 9 Pilot launched a tirade against Gehlot in Jaipur.
Addressing a press conference in Jaipur, Pilot said, “This fact has become clear from the speech of the Chief Minister, which he delivered the day before yesterday in Dholpur.”
Pilot raised questions on Gehlot’s statement “that praised BJP leaders, but tarnished the image of the party’s own MPs and MLAs”.
On Sunday, Gehlot said that Raje and two BJP leaders, namely Kailash Meghwal and Shobharani Kushwaha, helped him in saving his government.
Speaking on Gehlot’s statement, Pilot said, “Gehlot should explain why there are two faces to his statement. If he says that BJP was trying to topple the government and on the other side, he says that Raje was trying to save his government, then what does he want to say.”
On Thursday, he began his Jan Sanghrash Yatra from Ajmer to Jaipur to highlight the issue of corruption. During the Yatra, he launched a scathing attack against his own government, raising questions why the house of the arrested accused in the paper leak case has not been bulldozed yet. The posters for his Yatra also drew particular attention. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were missing from the posters, but only Sonia Gandhi’s photo was there.
Pilot is continuously raising the issue of no action being taken by the Gehlot government against the allegations of corruption during the BJP rule.
(IANS)
