New Delhi: “BJP’s Vasundhara Raje Schindia is Ashok Gehlot’s leader, not Sonia Gandhi,” senior Rajasthan leader Sachin Pilot said Tuesday, opening a fresh chapter in the ongoing tussle between the two top leaders in the state.
Pilot’s comments come a day after the Rajasthan chief minister said in Dholpur Sunday that he had survived an internal revolt in 2020 because BJP’s former chief minister Scindia and leader Kailash Meghwal refused to support a conspiracy to topple the government.
Pilot – with the help of several MLAs — had rebelled against the senior leader in 2020 but could not muster enough numbers to bring down the government.
He has since then publicly revealed his angst against Gehlot — his latest charge being Gehlot’s inaction against corruption by the Raje-led previous BJP government.
“But the Dholpur speech has made it clear why there has been no action against the previous Vasundhara Raje government… Now I know why my requests, letters, and fasts for a probe into her government’s corruption have gone unanswered,” Pilot said Tuesday.
He added: “Gehlot’s speech also made it clear that his leader is not Sonia Gandhi, but Vasundhara Raje Scindia. On one hand, you say the BJP is trying to topple our government. On the other hand, you say that Vasundhara Raje saved you. This contradiction must be explained to us. What are you trying to say?”
Pilot announced a “Jan Sangharsh Yatra” from Ajmer to Jaipur on 11 May, saying he would take his demands to the people, particularly for action against BJP’s corruption.
“The public is above a leader. I will go to the people, and keep my stand before them,” Pilot added, saying his march would start from Thursday.
He added at Tuesday’s press meet that the five-day yatra was against corruption. “Any further decision will be taken after this yatra,” he said. Pilot has already been cautioned by the Congress high command which termed his April fast as “anti-arty activity”.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Vasundhara Raje has counter Gehlot’s Dholpur claims, saying the Rajasthan chief minister was lying out of fear of losing the 2023 Assembly elections. She said his “false allegations” show he was rattled by the rebellion in the state Congress unit.
“Gehlot’s statement against me is a conspiracy. Nobody can insult me as much as Gehlot has done,” she said.
Also read: Sachin Pilot says he will continue to raise his voice against corruption