'Warrior' Sachin Pilot by his side, Ashok Gehlot wins trust vote in Rajasthan

Congress-led government in Rajasthan Chief on Friday won the trust vote in the state Assembly, putting an end to the month-long political uncertainty in the state due to Sachin Pilot’s rebellion against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s leadership.

The motion of confidence, moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal, was passed by a voice vote after the BJP said it did not have the numbers required and hit out at the Congress for keeping the entire state in limbo over factional troubles.

“This should put a full stop to all suspicions that were rising about the numerical strength of the government,” Pilot told reporters soon after the motion of confidence was adopted in the state Assembly.

In the same breath, he also sent a reminder to the Congress leadership of implementing the roadmap agreed upon to settle the concerns flagged by him about Gehlot’s leadership style.

“A roadmap has been prepared for all the issues that were being raised. I have complete faith that the roadmap will be announced timely,” Pilot said.

Pilot, who had rebelled against Gehlot, agreed to drop his rebellion on Monday after talks with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and an assurance from Congress President Sonia Gandhi that issues raised by him would be addressed in a time bound manner.

Pilot was removed from the posts of Deputy Chief Minister and Rajasthan Congress chief after he refused to attend legislature party meetings convened by Gehlot on July 13.

In the Assembly, Pilot was seated at the fringes of the Congress benches, drawing jibes from the opposition.

“Now I am next to the opposition. I have been sent to the sarhad (border). That is because only the bravest and strongest warrior is sent to the border. There may be bombardment at this border, but I will be the shield, club, spear for the party,” Pilot said.

The three-hour debate saw some heated moments as BJP attacked the Congress and accused it of holding the state to ransom due to internal differences within the party.

Speaker C P Joshi was seen strongly chastising the Treasury benches, particularly the parliamentary affairs minister, for failing to maintain decorum in the House.

The Speaker also threatened to walk out of the House if the ruling and the opposition benches did not conduct themselves in a dignified manner.