After ‘nikamma’, Gehlot lobs ‘gaddar’ jibe at Pilot, says he won’t be able to face public

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot keeps up his attack on former deputy Sachin Pilot at party meet, says he conspired with BJP to topple his government.

Heavy police security outside Jaipur's Fairmont Hotel, where the Congress Legislative Party meeting was held Tuesday | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Jaipur: Those who have betrayed the party will not be able to show their face to the public in their constituency, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Tuesday as he addressed legislators at the Congress Legislative Party meeting Tuesday.

Gehlot tore into party rebel Sachin Pilot, his former deputy, and his 18 loyalists at the meeting, which was also attended by Congress general secretary in charge of Rajasthan Avinash Pande, AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, senior party leader Ajay Maken, and state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra. 

Gehlot’s remarks at the meeting were later released to the media by the Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi.

“Party se gaddari karne waale log janta ke beech ja kar muh nahi dikha payenge,” Gehlot said at the meeting, which was scheduled for 11 am but finally took place at 1 pm.

He then reiterated that his government is stable and will complete its full tenure. While the Rajasthan government is busy tackling coronavirus, the former Rajasthan Congress president (Pilot), along with the BJP, is trying to topple the government, which is not acceptable, Gehlot said.  

“Efforts are being made to weaken democracy across the country. But in Rajasthan, Congress MLAs are fighting for this and will continue this fight till we succeed,” Gehlot added. 

His statements came a day after he described Sachin Pilot as “nikamma (useless)”, saying never before in the history of the Congress had a party chief tried to topple his own government.

According to sources, senior Congress leaders have expressed their displeasure on the choice of words used by Gehlot. “As a senior leader, he should avoid such statements. Many senior Congress leaders, especially central leaders, were unhappy about it,” said a leader.

‘Have to stay strong’ 

At the meeting Tuesday, the chief minister also thanked Bharatiya Tribal Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal MLAs for “supporting the government during such a crucial period”. 

“The chief minister said we have to stay strong and, for this, we need to continue camping inside the hotel (Fairmont). He asked MLAs if they were ready to do that and everyone said yes,” said a senior Congress MLA. 

Rajasthan plunged into a deep political crisis after Pilot declared an open rebellion against the Congress on 12 July, claiming to have the support of 30 MLAs. He, however, could only prove the support of over 18 legislators the next day.

On 14 July, 19 MLAs, including Pilot, were served disqualification notices by assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi, who asked them to respond by last Friday. 

Pilot then moved the Rajasthan High Court, challenging the notices, and said it’s an attempt to stifle their voices, which sought a leadership change within the party in the “most democratic manner”. The court Tuesday reserved its order until Friday.