New Delhi: Hinting at a truce with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Sachin Pilot Thursday said that the party high command had acknowledged three issues that he had been raising and created a roadmap to fulfil his demands.
In April, Pilot had first gone on a day-long hunger strike and then a five-day yatra across Rajasthan to demand a stringent law to deal with exam paper leaks, reforms in the Rajasthan Public Service Commission, and an investigation into allegations of corruption against the previous Vasundhara Raje government.
“I’m happy to say that the AICC (All India Congress Committee) has acknowledged all these issues. There’s also been a roadmap created to investigate these matters. I’m happy that the Congress party has taken cognisance of issues related to the youth, corruption issues and problems in our administrative bodies,” said Pilot Thursday after attending a meeting between Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan party leaders, which Gehlot joined virtually.
He added: “I’m very sure that in the days to come, the BJP will have to answer for the corruption during its tenure. Corruption is an issue that resonates with the public. The party will make this an election issue and take it forward.”
Rajasthan goes to polls later this year.
Pilot repeatedly harping on these issues was seen as a bid to corner his own party’s government in Rajasthan, led by his bête noire Gehlot. On 29 May, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had held a meeting with both of them to resolve the leadership crisis in Rajasthan.
However, as the party tried to project a united picture, sources in the Pilot camp said he was unwilling to let go of his three demands.
After Thursday’s meeting, Pilot said he was confident of Congress coming to power once again in Rajasthan.
“Today, on the issue of the upcoming Rajasthan elections, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, our leader Rahul Gandhi and state in-charge Sukhjinder Randhawa had called a meeting. All the important leaders of the state were called. We discussed the strategy of the party for the upcoming elections, how we can end the tradition of alternative governments in the state and bring back the Congress government. We had a detailed and open discussion. I’m happy to say that everyone expressed confidence at the party’s prospects of winning,” he added.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that the party will unitedly take on the BJP in the upcoming election.
“Twenty-nine leaders participated in the meeting. Everybody unanimously decided that we can win Rajasthan easily provided that there’s total unity. Therefore everybody unanimously resolved that there will be unity in the Rajasthan Congress. Earlier there were differences, but what is special about this meeting is that all the leaders agreed that we should fight with unity,” said Venugopal.
‘We will not announce a CM candidate’
Venugopal also said that the party will not announce a chief ministerial candidate. “You know the history of our party. We will not announce a CM candidate but we will fight together. There is a good government doing good work and that work will give results.”
He also pointed to new legislation by the Rajasthan government on the issue of question paper leaks and formation of the RPSC.
Venugopal announced some decisions that were taken at the meeting for election preparedness. From Friday, he said, workers of the Congress will go house to house in the state to popularise and propagate the schemes of the government. The party will also focus only on a “positive campaign”. Candidates will be given tickets based on their winnability which will be determined by multiple surveys that the party is conducting. The candidates will be declared by the first week of September.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)