"Rajesh Pilot No More, Congress Punishing His Son": PM In Rajasthan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, days ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan, cited Congress history today to claim that party is victimising Sachin Pilot because of the revolt by his father. Mr Pilot, one of the foremost leaders of the Congress in Rajasthan, has been kept in the wait mode for the state's top job for the last five years. His differences with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot have repeatedly made headlines.  

He is yet to receive any public reassurance that the job will be his this time, should the party comes to power again, breaking the state's revolving-door tradition.

Today, addressing a public rally in Bhilwara's Shahpura of Rajasthan, PM Modi said the Congress harbours rancour that is expressed against Sachin Pilot.

"You know the history of Congress. Whoever tries to raise his voice against wrongdoings in the party will lose political space because of the high command sitting in Delhi," PM Modi said.

"Rajesh Pilot only once raised his voice against Congress and that too for the betterment of the Congress, but the party is punishing Sachin Pilot till date. Rajesh Pilot is no more but Congress is with a feeling of rancour for his son Sachin Pilot," PM Modi said.

The Congress accused PM Modi of "unleashing another pack of lies". Senior party leader Pawan Khera said the late Rajesh Pilot was inspired by Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and left his job in the Indian Air Force to enter politics.

"He was not only a senior leader of the Congress, he always fought against the communal forces in this country. Late Pilot ji contested the election of Congress President against late Sitaram Kesari under the democratic traditions of Congress... The prime minister, due to his incomplete knowledge, forgot that at that time Sonia Gandhi was not in active politics. Nor was any other member of the Gandhi family in politics at that time," he added.

Earlier this year, the BJP comments that Rajesh Pilot had dropped bombs on Indians in Mizoram had created a huge controversy.

The late Rajesh Pilot, one of the prominent leaders of the party, had objected to the idea of Sonia Gandhi being projected as the Prime Minister. He was also one of the two leaders who had contested against Sitaram Kesri for the post of the party chief in 1996. He and Sharad Pawar had lost the contest.

Rajesh Pilot died in 2000. Sachin Pilot, who joined politics in 2004 and was part of Rahul Gandhi's inner circle. That year, he was also elected from Dausa, becoming the country's youngest MP.  

Differences between Mr Pilot and Mr Gehlot surfaced soon after the Congress's 2018 victory in Rajasthan. Mr Pilot, a contender for the post, had been persuaded by Rahul Gandhi to be the deputy of Mr Gehlot. But he revolted in 2020, bringing the Gehlot government to the brink.

In the run-up to the election, though, the two leaders have showed a united front following the party's formula in Karnataka, where a peace initiative between stalwarts Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar has brought huge electoral gains.

Mr Gehlot, who is seen to have passed up the chance for the party's top post during the internal elections last year to protect his turf in Rajasthan, has said he thinks of leaving the Chief Minister's post, but "this post is not leaving me".

"It comes to my mind that I should quit the post Why I should quit is a mystery but this post is not leaving me," he said at an event in Jaipur.