Pilot openly challenges Congress leadership, goes ahead with hunger strike against Gehlot

Defying central leadership’s diktat and setting stage for a confrontation, senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday sat on a day-long hunger strike in Jaipur against Ashok Gehlot government accusing it of not taking action against corruption under Vasundhare Raje regime.

The former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister’s public protest against his own party government chose the same day Rahul Gandhi addressed his first public function in Kerala’s Wayanad after his conviction in a defamation case and subsequent disqualification from Lok Sabha, signalling that he would not pipe down from his fight against his bete noir Gehlot.

While Pilot signalled that he has run out of patience and is willing to precipitate action with just around six months to go to polls, Gehlot did not comment on the protest but released a video on his vision to make Rajasthan the top state by 2030 and a new programme ‘Mehangai Rahat Camp’ (camp for relief from price rise).

Also read | 'Your hunger strike is anti-party activity': Congress reads riot act to Sachin Pilot

After he ended his fast in the evening, Pilot, who sat on the protest at the Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur after offering tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and Phule, told reporters that the fight against corruption would continue.

In a protest that is seen as embarrassing move to the Congress than his target BJP, Pilot has been careful in not attacking the central leadership though he was surprised with its terse statement.

He referred to Rahul’s fight against corruption, attacked the BJP on corruption and made a mention of the “40% (BJP) government” in Karnataka but made sure that everyone heard him right that he accuses Gehlot

Son of late Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, the 45-year-old leader, went ahead with his protest programme despite Congress issuing a statement on Thursday night calling the hunger strike “anti-party activity” that goes against “party’s interests” while making it clear that he has not raised the issues on which he is going on fast with the party in-charge in the past several months.

Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh said he has been given the assignment in the state for five months and Pilot has “never discussed this issue” with him. “I am in touch with him and I still appeal for calm dialogue since he is an indisputable asset to the Congress party.”

Congress had on Sunday itself made its thinking clear by endorsing Gehlot’s leadership saying his government has implemented a number of schemes and taken many new initiatives that have impacted people profoundly and the party would seek a renewed mandate from the people on this plank.

The intercine war between the 73-year-old Gehlot and his younger party colleague intensified in 2020 after the latter tried to unseat the veteran leader by taking his supporters to a Gurugram hotel with the help of the BJP. However, Gehlot struck back immediately and removed him as Deputy Chief Minister and quelled the rebellion.

Though he was lying low for some time, Pilot continued his opposition to Gehlot, as he felt the Chief Ministership in 2018 was his as he steered the party in the elections as state Congress chief. However, Rahul had brokered peace between the two leaders with Gehlot becoming the Chief Minister.

Gehlot has so far managed to stall any attempt to install Pilot as Chief Minister and had gone on record to describe him as a ‘gaddar’ (traitor) for the 2020 episode. In September last year, the central leadership wanted to install Pilot as Chief Minister in September last year when it wanted Gehlot to succeed Sonia Gandhi as party president.

However, Gehlot wanted his own man to be the Chief Minister if he was to move to Delhi and ensured that he had his way when his supporters thwarted a meeting of legislature party to authorise Sonia to take a call.