Ashok Gehlot targets 'useless' Sachin Pilot; smells corporate conspiracy to topple him

Firing fresh salvos, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday accused “innocent faced” Sachin Pilot of being part of a “corporate conspiracy” to topple his government and “backstabbing” the Congress while leading it in the state.

While Gehlot termed Pilot as “useless” and “rejected”, Congress MLA Giriraj Singh Malinga claimed that the rebel leader had offered him Rs 35 crore to defect to the BJP, a charge rejected by Pilot.

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Breaking his silence, Pilot said he was “saddened, but not surprised” to be at the receiving end of such “baseless and vexatious allegations” against him.

“This is done solely to malign me and to stifle the legitimate concerns that I had raised against the party leadership of the state, as a member and MLA of INC. This attempt further aims at defaming me and attacking my credibility,” Pilot said in a statement.

“I will be taking appropriate and strictest possible legal action against the MLA who was made to make these accusations. I am sure more such concocted allegations will be thrown at me to cause aspersions on my public image. But I shall be unfettered and remain firm in my beliefs and convictions,” Pilot said.

Addressing the media in Jaipur, Gehlot claimed several corporate houses from Mumbai had sponsored Pilot’s candidacy for the post of the AICC President and the same groups are now de-stablising his government to please Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The lawyers he (Pilot) has engaged Mukul Rohtagi and Harish Salve charge Rs 40 lakh-Rs 50 lakh per appearance. Where is the money coming from. Corporate houses are behind this,” Gehlot said.

The chief minister alleged that Pilot along with the BJP had been conspiring for the last six months to topple his government.

“Nobody believed me when I used to say that a conspiracy is being hatched to topple the government. I am not here to sell brinjals. I am not here to sell vegetables, I am the chief minister,” Gehlot said.

The chief minister claimed that MLAs supporting Pilot were held captive in five star hotels with no access to phones. “Several were reaching out to me using mobile phones of waiters and hair dressers, crying that they want to come back,” Gehlot said.