Rajasthan’s Deputy CM Sachin Pilot arrived in Delhi on Saturday with 25 MLAs in a show-of-strength of sorts, seeking to meet with Congress High-Command. A loyalist of Pilot has said that they were at the NCR to meet Sonia Gandhi regarding the “step-motherly treatment given to them by the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan”.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Gehlot called a late-night meeting of his Ministers at his official residence in Jaipur on Saturday and asked all party MLAs to give a letter of support to him. This was not attended by the dozen MLAs who belong to the Sachin Pilot camp. Notably, Gehlot had only recently accused the BJP of trying to ‘poach its MLAs’. He went on to claim that they had offered his MLAs an amount ranging between Rs 10 to 15 crores, each to select MLAs from his government in an attempt to have them switch parties. Coming out in response to these accusations, the BJP had said that it was in no way responsible for the ‘infighting’ that went on in the Congress camp.
This has raised questions asking if trouble was brewing for the Congress, only months after it lost Jyotiraditya Scindia to the BJP. The differences between Sachin Pilot and the Chief Minister have been surfacing regularly. Last year, after the Lok Sabha elections, Gehlot blamed Pilot for his son’s defeat. “Pilot should take responsibility,” the Chief Minister had said.
Congress leaders like Kapil Sibal and Majeed Memon took to Twitter to express their concerns regarding the same.
Worried for our party
Will we wake up only after the horses have bolted from our stables ?
— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) July 12, 2020
BJP toppling game in Rajasthan is activated by Central leaders. The States are won if not by people’s mandate, then by skilful toppling game. After MP now Rajasthan is at the point of gun.
— Majeed Memon (@advmajeedmemon) July 12, 2020
(Sources: DNA, Republic, Business Insider)