As Pilot takes aim at Gehlot, trouble for Congress again?

Pilot also sought action against MLAs who defied the party's plan to replace Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot

After a brief lull, the Rajasthan Congress appears to be heading towards another round of trouble, with Sachin Pilot on Wednesday targeting Ashok Gehlot for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s praise of the Chief Minister, saying it is “interesting” and “cannot be taken lightly”.

Pilot also reminded the party high command about the “pending” decisions on change in leadership in the state government and disciplinary action against three Gehlot loyalists, who were issued show cause notices for sabotaging the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on September 25.

Soon after Pilot's loaded statement, Gehlot said leaders should "maintain discipline" and refrain from making political statements. "AICC General Secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal has asked not to give statements. We, too, want all leaders to maintain discipline. It is our objective to repeat the government," he said in Alwar.

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The former Deputy Chief Minister’s remarks in Jaipur came amid indications that the party is in no hurry to replace Gehlot or precipitate a crisis in the state after the Chief Minister’s camp outwitted the central leadership when it attempted to install Pilot when Gehlot was preparing to head the party. Gehlot wanted his loyalist to occupy his chair.

Incidentally, a second CLP meeting to pass a one-line resolution to authorise the Congress president to take a call on the leadership issue was contemplated but no such move was initiated by the central leadership.

Pilot’s comments to rake up Modi’s praise and suggest that Gehlot could go the BJP way comes despite the Deputy Chief Minister himself being accused of hobnobbing with the saffron party in 2020 to dethrone the Chief Minister after he took MLAs supporting him to a hotel in Haryana’s Gurugram. He then lost his Deputy Chief Ministership and state presidentship, as Gehlot outmanoeuvred him.

“I think the Prime Minister’s praise (of Gehlot) is very interesting. The Prime Minister had similarly praised Ghulam Nabi Azad in Parliament and we saw what happened after that. It was an interesting development. One should not take it lightly,” Pilot said. Azad has left Congress recently with the party accusing him of hobnobbing with the BJP.

Pilot also appeared to put the party’s central leadership on notice, reminding Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal’s statement on September 28 that a decision on Rajasthan government’s leadership will be taken “in a day or two”.

He also appeared to question the delay in taking action against three Gehlot loyalists – Minister Shanti Dhariwal, chief whip and PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi and RTDC chairman Dharmendra Rathore – saying he expects the decision to come soon.

Putting the ball in party’s new president Mallikarjun Kharge’s court, he said he expected a decision soon as party discipline is paramount and nobody should be spared irrespective of his stature.

Pilot has been patiently waiting for the central leadership’s intervention but as signals indicated, Gehlot consolidating his position has irked the 45-year-old MLA. Before the Congress presidential elections, then chief Sonia Gandhi was advised by senior leaders like A K Antony to not disturb Gehlot at the time as any such move could have become counter-productive.

Kharge is also following a wait-and-watch approach though Gehlot supporters’ action was seen as a direct challenge to the party president, who had called for a CLP meet.