Highlights
- Sachin Pilot was extremely unhappy with the Congress, but still maintains that he is not joining the BJP.
- After many calls from Congress leaders, including the Gandhi family - Rahul and Priyanka - Pilot said he was fighting for his honour and wanted an apology for the SOG notice.
Delhi: Sachin Pilot was sacked as the Deputy Chief Minister and Congress state chief of Rajasthan after he asked for “justice” from the party high command.
Pilot, 42, who had a running feud with his chief minister, Ashok Gehlot was livid after the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan police, which reports to Gehlot, issued him a notice to investigate allegations of horse trading.
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The notice also invoked “sedition,” warring war against the state. This came after the Congress won two Rajya Sabha seats from Rajasthan despite Gehlot crying wolf on a conspiracy to make his government fall by the BJP.
Pilot had then told me that he was confident that the Congress would win both seats and that there was no conspiracy to bring down the government.
Pilot had worked hard to bring the Congress back to power in Rajasthan, and yet when the party won they preferred to make Gehlot the chief minister two years ago. The logic was that the more experienced leader would help win the Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress lost every seat in Rajasthan recording a dud. Out of 25 they lost 25, including Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot’s seat.
Pilot was extremely unhappy with the Congress, but still maintains that he is not joining the BJP. After many calls from Congress leaders, including the Gandhi family - Rahul and Priyanka - Pilot said he was fighting for his honour and wanted an apology for the SOG notice. Sources close to Pilot said the calls were not to redress his grievances but to invoke “a sense of nostalgia” - the fact that they had seen him grow up as a little boy. Pilot’s father the late Rajesh Pilot was a well-known Congress leader who died in his prime.
Pilot is the second bold face name to go after Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party a mere three months ago and toppled the Madhya Pradesh government run by Kamalnath.
Even there it was a clash of the ambitions as Scindia wanted to be chief minister. Instead, much like Gehlot tried to do to Pilot, senior leaders clipped his wings.
Pilot has been sacked and has the support of at least 25 MLAs, but the Congress party needs to introspect as why all the young leaders are voting with their feet for the exit.
The last thing Pilot said before the axing: “Chill.” Perhaps he has reasons too as the BJP is eyeing him.
