Congress Leaders Accuse Sachin Pilot Of Misleading Youth With His Demands

Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi has come out in defence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot even as dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot stood his ground on Tuesday, reminding Mr Gehlot of his demands. Amid the Ashok Gehlot-Sachin Pilot tussle in the Rajasthan Congress, Chief Minister loyalists Mr Joshi and Didwana MLA Chetan Dudi hit out at those lashing out against the government. Also, they accused Mr Pilot of misleading the youth through his demands.

The remarks come a day after Mr Pilot and Sainik Kalyan Minister Rajendra Gudha levelled fresh corruption allegations against the ruling dispensation. In a tweet on Tuesday, Mr Pilot said, "We have placed 3 demands in the Jan Sangharsh Sabha -- a high-level committee should be formed to investigate the corruption in the (former) Vasundhara government, reconstitution of RPSC due to corruption and increasing cases of paper leak incidents and clear institutional criteria and transparency for the selection process and financial compensation to youth affected by the paper leak." Without naming Mr Gudha over remarks that the Rajasthan government was going beyond the "40 per cent commission of Karnataka government", Mr Joshi said, "Such leaders should have thought before accusing their own government that they are in a way levelling these allegations on themselves too." Mr Gudha made the allegations during Sachin Pilot's rally in Jaipur on Monday.

A Sachin Pilot loyalist, however, said the demand for the reconstitution of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) was for ensuring the transparent appointment of chairman and members so that the panel can instil a feeling of confidence among the youth that the selection will be fair on the lines of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

In a statement on Monday night, Mr Joshi said those who have made the allegations know it well that whenever the matter of corruption has come, the chief minister has taken strong action by following the policy of zero tolerance and the anti-corruption bureau's actions against the corrupt are indicative of this. Mr Dudi, who was earlier considered close to Sachin Pilot but stood with the government during the political crisis in 2020, said the three demands raised by the dissident leader were impractical and completely incomprehensible.

On the issue of corruption by the former Vasundhara Raje government, Mr Dudi said all those cases have been settled by the High Court and the Supreme Court, and the mining leases have already been cancelled.

Apart from a call for a high-level probe into corruption, Sachin Pilot on Monday spelt out two other demands - disbanding RPSC and its reconstitution, and compensation for those affected by the cancellation of government recruitment exams after the paper leak.

"Don't you know that RPSC is an independent constitutional body which can never be dissolved? Even the resignation of the RPSC member is accepted by the president. Why are you confusing the youth?" Mr Dudi tweeted on Monday night.

The MLA claimed the demand for compensation for the paper leak is only for getting false praise because this does not happen in any state.

Countering this, another Sachin Pilot loyalist on Tuesday said appointments should not be based on political connections, but a highly qualified scientist or academician should be appointed so that the institution's credibility is revived.

"The criteria should not be 'political relations' and there should be a complete background check of the candidate before the appointment so that there is no next 'Babulal Katara' in the RPSC," he said while pointing to the recent arrest of RPSC member Mr Katara in a paper leak incident.

Earlier, Chetan Dudi said in Rajasthan, more than 150 people have been jailed for paper leaks, and that special laws and STF have been made on paper leaks.

In a series of tweets Monday night, Mr Dudi had asked Mr Pilot which cases of the Vasundhara government were still pending that he wanted to get investigated. "Because as soon as the government came to power, these cases have been settled by the High Court and the Supreme Court and all the mines have also been cancelled," he said.

Chetan Dudi also took a dig at Sachin Pilot over Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat's tweet after his rally in which he shared a photo and video clipping of Mr Pilot's rally, and said, "A large group of Congress workers and leaders in Rajasthan, 'through whose hard work the government came', today itself is calling its government corrupt."       

The Congress MLA wrote, "Rajasthan's biggest scam is Sanjeevani scam in which lakhs of people's houses were looted, but in the rally, the name of the main accused of Sanjeevani scam was not even taken and after the rally, the main accused tweeted in praise of Pilot. This is the truth of the rally because the friendship has been there since the time of Manesar."       

Sachin Pilot and his supporting MLAs, who had revolted against the Ashok Gehlot government in July 2020, had stayed in hotels in Manesar town near Gurgaon.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and Tonk MLA Sachin Pilot held a rally in Jaipur on Monday on the culmination of his Ajmer-Jaipur 'Jan Sangharsh Pad Yatra' on the issue of corruption and paper leaks.

The rally was attended by at least 14 Congress MLAs, many former MLAs, several other leaders of the party, and a large number of his supporters in which he announced to agitate against the government if the three demands raised by him were not fulfilled by this month end.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)