Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "All people are prepared to listen to Sachin Pilot." (File)
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Monday said that Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot should come forward to hold talks with the top leadership about his grievances and assured that all problems will be addressed.
The senior leader, however, said that if the action of any MLA leads to harm to Congress government then it is simply not acceptable
"I consider Sachin Pilot as one of the most talented, competent and impressive Congressmen we have. He is a friend also. We all value him in the party. He should come and air his grievances, the floor is open. All people are prepared to listen to him," Mr Singhvi told news agency ANI through videoconferencing.
"He may have genuine grievances but where I draw a red flag is that if you try to topple a government or hurt your own Congress party. I think everything except that red flag is accepted in the party. It's a capacious party. I urge, request, beg him to exercise that right," Mr Singhvi added.
He spoke of remarks by Congress leaders that BJP was behind the attempt to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan.
"The BJP today is known for this, from Goa to Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh to Nagaland and from Karnataka to Madhya Pradesh and now Rajasthan. There are disagreements, but they are used financially, in a corrupt fashion by the BJP. The BJP has time and again shown how they abuse power, which comes from wealth. There is evidence against two BJP members as well. Because Rajasthan is ruled by the Congress, therefore, it has come to the fore this time," Mr Singhvi said.
The senior Congress leader said that while any cause of disagreement was welcome within the party but "any attempt to topple a Congress government in the state would be not acceptable to anyone."
He also said that the current situation in Rajasthan could not be compared to that of Madhya Pradesh, where recently the Kamal Nath led government lost majority with several of Congress MLAs joining the BJP.
"Rajasthan is a completely different cup of tea than Madhya Pradesh. There was an unfortunate break-off in MP. In Rajasthan, the figures at the moment show a gap of at least 10-20 (MLAs), in terms of the majority with the Congress. I agree these things should be nipped in the bud and they are all discussable but if you allow your ambition, anger, dissatisfaction to be converted to a party-breaking, government toppling level then you are crossing a red flag and a boundary which nobody, including me, will accept," Mr Singhvi said.