Amid speculation of Sachin Pilot breaking away from Congress and forming a new party ahead of the Rajasthan elections, the former Union Minister on Sunday morning took paid homage to his father Rajesh Pilot on his death anniversary.
The Congress leader said he will ‘never compromised’ on his principles, as he and his followers paid tributes to Rajesh Pilot in Dausa, where they also unveiled the late leader’s statue.
Addressing the rally at his home turf, Pilot took a dig at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and said, “If I talk about helping the youth who were cheated, they call me mentally bankrupt.”
Dausa’s event turned out to be a show of strength for the Congress leader, who, amid chants of ‘Pilot Pilot’, emphasised that his formest commitment is towards the betterment of the people of the state.
Earlier, he took to Twitter and reiterated that for him public interest was paramount and he will keep following his ideals.
“My respected father, I bow down to Shri Rajesh Pilot ji on his death anniversary. His attachment to his workplace, his affinity with the public and his dedicated working style towards public welfare are my guide. He never compromised on his principles considering public interest as paramount. I will always follow his thoughts and ideals,” he tweeted.
मेरे पूज्य पिताजी स्व. श्री राजेश पायलट जी की पुण्यतिथि पर उन्हें हृदय से नमन करता हूँ।अपनी कर्मभूमि से उनका जुड़ाव, जनता से अपनेपन का रिश्ता एवं जनकल्याण के प्रति उनकी समर्पित कार्यशैली मेरे लिए मार्गदर्शक हैं।
उन्होंने जनहित को सर्वोपरि मानकर कभी भी अपने सिद्धांतों से समझौता… pic.twitter.com/wjglt81SKG
— Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) June 11, 2023
Though veteran Congress leaders and his own supporters have termed the speculation of Pilot floating a new party as rumours, the former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan has remained quiet over the reports of his breaking away from the grand old party.
Congress Hopeful of ‘Positive Solution’
The Congress on Saturday exuded confidence a “positive solution” would be found to the intra-party discord in Rajasthan, even as all eyes remained set on dissident Pilot’s next move.
The Congress has already rubbished reports Pilot will float a new party. It has said he will unitedly contest the next Rajasthan assembly elections.
Asked about the developments in Rajasthan, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “Our party president and we surely feel there will be a positive solution to this issue.”
The remark comes amid intense speculation that Pilot may announce his own party or his future plans at the programme in Dausa as he pays tribute to his father on his death anniversary, an event which has been an annual feature for the last over two decades.
The Congress last week had said the party is supreme and will fight the Rajasthan Assembly polls unitedly to emerge victorious, an assertion that came after Pilot refused to budge from his demands.
In a bid to defuse the tensions, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had held marathon discussions with Gehlot and Pilot separately last week, sources had said. They had later posed for photographs at Kharge’s 10 Rajaji Marg residence here.
After the meetings, the party had said Gehlot and Pilot have agreed to fight the upcoming assembly elections unitedly and have left all issues to be resolved by Congress high command.
Addressing reporters after the meeting earlier this week, Venugopal had said, “Both the leaders, Ashok ji and Sachin ji, agreed to the proposal on these things.” Asked what proposal he was talking out, Venugopal had said,
“Both have left it to the (party) high command.”
Rajasthan Congress Tussle
Gehlot and Pilot have been engaged in a power tussle since the Congress formed government in the state in 2018. In 2020, Pilot led a revolt against the Gehlot government after which he was removed from the posts of the party’s state unit president and deputy chief minister.
Last year, an attempt by the high command to effect a leadership change in Rajasthan had failed after Gehlot loyalists dug their heels in and did not allow a legislature party meeting to take place.
Pilot had last month defied a warning from the party and went ahead with a day-long fast targeting Gehlot over his “inaction” on alleged corruption during the previous Raje government.
(With inputs from agencies)
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