In a move to stamp out the rebellion in its Rajasthan unit, the Congress on Tuesday sacked Sachin Pilot and two more ministers from the Ashok Gehlot cabinet, underlining that the party does not revolve around people but is based on policy and principles.
Chief Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, sent as Central observer to the state, said the party had to make some decisions today with a “heavy heart”, referring to the dropping of Pilot as deputy chief minister and also as the party’s Rajasthan unit president. Govind Singh Dotasra was appointed Rajasthan Congress chief in place of Pilot, announced Surjewala.
“I regret that Sachin Pilot and some of his associates have been swayed by BJP’s plot and are now conspiring to topple the Congress government elected by 80 million Rajasthanis. It is unacceptable,” Surjewala told journalists. “Truth can be disturbed, not defeated,” tweeted Pilot, who has been camping in Delhi, as news travelled that the Congress has stripped him of his portfolios and even removed him from the post of Rajasthan Congress chief.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot drove down to Raj Bhavan to make a formal request to the governor to drop Pilot and the two ministers from his cabinet. The Congress legislature party, that met for the second straight day, passed a resolution seeking action against the rebel leaders to send a “strong message” and prevent any such future trouble.
Pilot sticks to guns
With the political crisis in Rajasthan showing no signs of abating, with CM Gehlot holding a show of strength by convening a meeting of party legislators and later placing them in a resort and Pilot challenging the CM’s claim to numbers while rejecting reports that a compromise was being worked out as being “too little, too late.” While a team of senior Congress leaders sent to Jaipur appealed to Pilot to call off his rebellion, he made it clear that the overtures were insufficient and measures such as a rejig of portfolios and assurances on his tenure as state chief weren’t enough. Efforts of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who spoke to Pilot and sought to persuade him to return to Jaipur, were met with a similar response.
The Gehlot camp appeared to be struggling to make up the numbers with at least 20 MLAs (Pilot included) of the 107 party legislators staying away from the Congress legislature party meeting despite the party issuing a whip to be present. By Monday evening, they appeared to concede that Pilot’s claim of having the support of 25 MLAs could not be bereft of substance, and played down the absence of MLAs by saying that hose missing had sought exemption.
State transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas claimed that there were 109 MLAs at the CLP meeting. They included 10 Independents and one CPM MLA, Balwan Poonia, who was suspended by his party for voting for Congress in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.
Late night, a video was uploaded on Pilot’s official WhatsApp group showing around 16-17 MLAs, who skipped the CLP meeting, seated together. Sources close to Pilot said the video was from a hotel in Manesar.
The CM has called another meeting of the Congress legislature party on Tuesday and the party has threatened to take action against MLAs who don’t turn up. The suspense about the outcome of the high-stake power tussle is likely to continue because of the uncertainty about any collaboration between Pilot and BJP. While income tax raids on three businessmen perceived to be close to Gehlot were interpreted by many in political circles as a manoeuvre to help the disgruntled deputy CM and attracted allegations from Congress. BJP refrained from revealing its cards. Congress circles are convinced that Pilot is acting in tandem with BJP while the saffron party is glad over the latest embarrassment to the Congress leadership.
