Jaipur:
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday accused rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot of involvement in horse-trading with the BJP to topple his government in the state. Pilot was removed from the posts of the Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the state Congress president on Tuesday amid a tussle for power with Gehlot.
Pilot’s supporters had claimed that he was upset over a notice sent to him by the Rajasthan Police, who claimed to have stumbled on a plot to topple the Congress government. The notice from the Special Operations Group had (SOG) sought time from him to record a statement.
On Tuesday, the CM had accused the rebel leader of playing into the hands of the BJP, which he said wanted a repeat of the Madhya Pradesh episode where the Congress government collapsed in March after a rebellion by Jyotiraditya Scindia. In an interaction with reporters here on Wednesday, the chief minister, however, did not mention Pilot by his name but said the “former Pradesh Congress Committee president” was himself “doing the deal”.
“Some of our colleagues fell into the BJP trap, became over-ambitious, and got involved in horse-trading,” the CM alleged. “We have proof that horse-trading was taking place. Money was offered. And who gave the clarification that nothing was happening? Those who were themselves part of the conspiracy are giving clarifications,” he said.
“Our deputy chief minister and PCC president himself was doing the deal and was giving statements that no horse-trading was taking place. What clarifications are you giving when you yourself were involved in it,” Gehlot added. The chief minister said the SOG had issued notices even to him after they complained to it that the BJP is involved in horse-trading. Earlier, we had to keep our MLAs in a hotel for 10 days, he said referring to the horse-trading allegations leveled against the BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections last month.
While mentioning that he (Pilot) has been a Union minister and the state Congress chief, Gehlot said he would have performed well for the nation had he gone through “struggle in his youth”. “Speaking good English or Hindi, giving a byte, and being a handsome personality is not everything. What do you have in your heart for the country; what commitment do you have for the party’s policies and programs, this all is seen,” Gehlot added, saying he is the chief minister for the third time and struggled a lot in his youth.
Gehlot also said Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and he himself loves the youth. Gehlot also hit out at the national media saying it is supporting those who are “involved in murdering democracy”. He said the younger generation in the media should raise a voice if the democracy is being “murdered” “The media should support honesty and truth. Is it not the duty of the media to raise a voice if the democracy is being finished,” he said.
