Would’ve apologised had I been in Gehlot’s place — Sachin Pilot after ‘truce’ with Congress

Day after meeting senior Congress leaders, Sachin Pilot tells ThePrint a CM is 'head of the family', should take everyone along. He reiterates that he doesn't want any post.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot at his Delhi residence | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: Former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot Tuesday said he would have “voluntarily come forward to apologise” had he been in Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s place and used acrimonious language against a colleague.

“If I was in his place and had said something like that, I would have voluntarily come forward and apologised,” Pilot told ThePrint, referring to Gehlot’s remarks last month that described him as “nakara” and “nikamma (useless)”.

Pilot’s comments came a day after his rapprochement with the Congress top command after nearly a month of uncertainty and rebellion. At a meeting with the party’s central leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ahmed Patel and K.C. Venugopal, Pilot had thanked the Congress leadership for assuring him that it will look into the issues he had raised.

“There is no place for acrimony in public life. It is unbecoming of someone in that position. We should lead by example, people are watching us. The comments on my traits, looks etc… they didn’t seem to notice all this when I was toiling on the ground, why now suddenly?” Pilot told ThePrint

“The personal attacks are unnecessary. But this is a thing of the past now, I have decided to swallow the bitter pill and move on.”

Pilot also met former party president Rahul Gandhi Monday along with the other leaders, after which the long-drawn crisis seemed to have been settled for the time being. At the meeting, Pilot had insisted that his dissent against the party was “never about a post but self-respect”.

The Gehlot factor

Pilot, who had been camping in Delhi, said as the “head of the family, the CM should take everyone along”.

“When I was travelling across the state and working hard before each big or small election, I was the head of the family in the party and I tried to bring everyone together. In the government now, the chief minister is the head of the party and should take everyone along,” the 42-year-old said.

Asked about why it took so long for the conciliatory conversation to happen with the Congress leadership, Pilot said “the actions and words emanating from Jaipur were not conducive for discussions”.

“The acrimony and negativity from Jaipur were of a different scale,” he added.

The leader, who reached Jaipur Tuesday evening, said he was yet to speak to CM Gehlot.

Gehlot and Pilot have had an uneasy relationship ever since Gehlot was picked as the CM over the younger Pilot after Congress won the December 2018 Rajasthan assembly elections. Things came to a pass when Pilot was issued a notice by the Rajasthan Police’s Special Operation Group (SOG) to record his statements in a matter relating to the arrest of two BJP leaders for their alleged attempt to bring down the Congress government in the state. The SOG had also issued notices to CM Gehlot and several other state leaders.

On future plans

Soon after his brazen rebellion in mid July, Pilot was stripped of his posts of Rajasthan deputy chief minister and state party chief, making the situation even more adversarial.

Pilot, however, claimed Tuesday he told the party high command he isn’t interested in posts and positions.

“I have told the leadership that I don’t want any posts. My battle was for fundamental issues, not to bargain for posts. But I will do as the party wants. I have never shied away from accepting responsibilities. Rajasthan is my karmabhoomi and I will always work for the state,” he said.

Earlier, Rajasthan Speaker C.P. Joshi had issued notices to Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel Congress MLAs after the party sought their disqualification from the state assembly. The matter had even reached the Supreme Court, which eventually resulted in Speaker Joshi withdrawing his appeal against a Rajasthan High Court order in the matter.

The reconciliation

Pilot claimed he had never intended to leave the Congress, or undermine the party in any way.

“I have never done or said anything to undermine the party — not a word, not a gesture. Along with the MLAs (supporting him), I came to Delhi to tell the party leadership that all was not well in the way things were being run in Jaipur. The idea was to bring about a change.”

He said, “How an SOG notice was served to me as a sitting deputy chief minister was inappropriate and unwarranted, besides everything else that has been happening for the last year and a half.”

He said the Congress said it wanted to talk, “but actions in Jaipur suggested otherwise”.

Pilot said he has now been given a patient hearing by the central leadership, who have assured him his grievances will be heard. A three-member committee has been constituted by interim president Sonia Gandhi to look into the issue.

“Now there is a roadmap and clear mechanism in place. All the issues and grievances I raised will be heard,” he said.