New Delhi: Hours after Congress leader Sachin Pilot announced a hunger strike against his own party’s government and chief minister in Rajasthan, the Congress expressed its disapproval, albeit in an indirect way, stating that it will seek a renewed mandate in the state on the basis of the Gehlot government’s achievements.
“The Congress Government in Rajasthan with Shri Ashok Gehlot as CM has implemented a large number of schemes and taken many new initiatives that have impacted the people profoundly. This has given the state a leadership position in governance in our country. The Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan was an outstanding success made possible by the dedication and determination of the party organisation in the state,” Jairam Ramesh, All India Congress Committee’s general secretary in-charge of communications, said in a statement.
The statement added: “Later in the year, the Congress will seek a renewed mandate from the people on the strength of these landmark achievements and the collective efforts of our organisation”.
The development came hours after Pilot announced a day-long hunger strike against the Gehlot government to demand a crackdown on corruption in the state.
Gehlot and Pilot have been at war since the former became the chief minister of Rajasthan in 2018 — a post the latter had been vying for after leading the state unit as its president for five years.
Pilot and 20 MLAs had also launched a month-long rebellion against Gehlot in 2020, which threatened to bring down the Congress government. But they relented after the Gandhis’ intervened.
The two leaders have continued to spar since then.
The development is significant as it comes months ahead of assembly elections. Rajasthan will vote for its 200-member assembly in November-December this year. It is one of only three states where Congress is in power on its own.
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Pilot’s hunger strike
Earlier Sunday, former Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot announced a day-long hunger strike on 11 April against his own government’s inability to fight corruption in the state. Addressing a press conference in Jaipur, Pilot said that he had written to Gehlot last year seeking action against corruption charges on the previous Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party government.
“I wrote a letter to CM Ashok Gehlot and said that elections are coming and we must show the public that there is no difference between our promises and our work. But I have not received any answer from the CM yet. In Rajasthan, we are neither using them nor misusing the investigating agencies. Our workers and public should not think that we don’t fulfil our promises,” Pilot said.
He said with elections approaching, the Congress “cannot go into the elections with these promises unfulfilled”.
“With 6-7 months left for the elections, the opponents can spread an illusion that there is some collusion. Therefore, action will have to be taken soon so that the Congress workers feel that there is no difference between our words and actions,” he said. “We have evidence. We should have acted. We are going into elections. The Model Code of Conduct will come into effect soon. We are answerable to the people”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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