Despite the Congress’s Monday night warning, Sachin Pilot seems to be firm on holding a fast on Tuesday against his own party-led government in Rajasthan, under chief minister Ashok Gehlot, to press for action against corruption in the state.
On Sunday, Pilot opened a fresh front against Gehlot, his old political rival within the party, alleging that the state government failed to investigate cases of alleged corruption during the Bharatiya Janata Party rule in Rajasthan and announced his plan to hold a day-long fast on April 11 to demand action.
Top points on Sachin Pilot fast against Gehlot govt:
1. Hours before Sachin Pilot’s scheduled one-long fast, the Congress on Monday night issued a stern warning to the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister and said any such action on his part would amount to anti-party activity.
2. “Sachin Pilot’s day-long fast tomorrow is against the party interests and is anti-party activity. If there is any issue with his own government, it can be discussed in the party forums instead of in the media and public. I have been an AICC in-charge for five months and Pilot ji has never discussed this issue with me. I am in touch with him and I still appeal for calm dialogue since he is an indisputable asset to the Congress party,” All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Rajasthan, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, said in a statement tweeted by INC Sandesh, an official page of the Congress party.
3. News agency PTI citing sources close to Pilot reported that he would go ahead with his fast. The sources also said while Rahul Gandhi was fighting on the Adani issue of alleged corruption, likewise Pilot was taking up the issue to hold the previous Raje dispensation accountable. Pilot is likely to sit on a “maun vrat” and not speak against the government.
4. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also reacted to Pilot’s allegations, saying that a probe was ongoing against BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is currently the water resources minister in the Union cabinet, related to the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam. Shekhawat has filed a defamation case against Gehlot.
5. BJP’s Arjun Ram Meghwal, junior minister for parliamentary affairs and culture at the Centre, said the Congress government in Rajasthan seems to be divided into two factions. There is no development, governance is missing and the people are suffering, he said. “I believe the people will teach them a lesson in the coming elections,” Meghwal added.
6. The sources told PTI that both Pilot and Randhawa spoke over the phone but the AICC in-charge of the state had not asked the former deputy chief minister to call off the fast. They said his fight is against graft under the Vasundhara Raje regime and not targeted at anyone else.
7. While thousands of supporters from different parts of the state are expected to join Pilot during his fast at Shaheed Smarak, no MLA or minister is expected to do so.
8. Revenue minister Ramlal Jat indirectly cautioned those who are vying for the chief minister position that it was the party high command who appointed Gehlot as chief minister of Rajasthan.
9. In a statement on Sunday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Gehlot government has implemented a large number of schemes and taken many new initiatives that have profoundly impacted the people.
10. In July 2020, Pilot and a section of party MLAs rebelled openly, demanding a leadership change in the state. It led to a one-month-long political crisis that ended after assurance by the party high command to look into the issues raised by Pilot.
(With inputs from PTI)
