Sachin Pilot's 5-Day Yatra Against Ashok Gehlot Government Begins

Mounting pressure on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and the Congress' central leadership in the run-up to the assembly polls, party leader Sachin Pilot began his "Jan Sangharsh Yatra" from Ajmer on Thursday.

Last month, the Tonk MLA and former deputy of Ashok Gehlot held a day-long fast, targeting his own party's government in Rajasthan for "inaction" in alleged cases of corruption when the BJP ran the state.

Before starting the 125-km-long five-day yatra, Mr Pilot addressed a public gathering on the Jaipur Highway in Ajmer and raised the issue of leaking question papers for recruitment in different government posts.

He asked why was a bulldozer not run over the property of a Rajasthan Public Service Commission member arrested a few days ago in connection with the paper leak when the same was done to another accused in the same case.

Asserting that the youths are the future of the state and country, Pilot said his march was not against anyone, but against corruption and for protecting the interest of the youths.

Mr Gehlot and Mr Pilot have been at loggerheads publicly for more than two years. In 2020, Mr Pilot led a rebellion in the party for a change of leadership in the state. However, Mr Gehlot managed to survive and Mr Pilot and some of his loyalists were later ousted from the state cabinet.

The chief minister, while addressing a public programme in Dholpur on Sunday, had claimed that he survived a revolt in 2020 by some Congress MLAs because BJP leaders Vasundhara Raje and Kailash Meghwal refused to support a conspiracy to topple an elected government through money power.

A couple of days later, Mr Pilot targeted Mr Gehlot over his comments, saying it appeared that the veteran Congressman's leader was Vasundhara Raje Scindia and not Sonia Gandhi. He had also rejected the charge that the dissidents - whom he had led -- took any money from the BJP. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)