Ashok Gehlot's leader is Vasundhara Raje: Congress MLA Sachin Pilot counters

Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday, said that Ashok Gehlot's leader is Vasundhara Raje, not Sonia Gandhi.

"After listening to Ashok Gehlot's speech in Dholpur, it seems like his leader is not Sonia Gandhi but Vasundhara Raje," said Pilot. 

The statement came into the response to Ashok Gehlot's speech in Dholpur in which he said that he managed to survive the 2020 revolt initiated by certain Congress MLAs as BJP leaders Vasundhara Raje and former assembly leader Kailash Meghwal declined to lend their support to a plot aimed at overthrowing a democratically elected government through financial influence. 

Addressing a press conference,he said,"For the first time, I am seeing someone criticize MPs and MLAs of their own party. Praising leaders from BJP and dishonouring Congress leaders is beyond my understanding, this is absolutely wrong. "

Mr. Pilot also accused Gehlot of insulting his own party's MLAs. "He called me gaddar (traitor), nikamma (useless), corona…Many insinuations and abuses were directed at me. I didn't say anything as I didn't want to damage the party," he said.

In the midst of the alleged attack on Gehlot, Sachin Pilot reportedly stated that he would remain with the party and not resign. His reasoning was based on not wanting to jeopardize the party's prospects in the upcoming Rajasthan election later this year. Additionally, he expressed his intention to organize a "Jan Sangharsh Yatra" from Ajmer to Jaipur on May 11, aiming to draw attention to issues of corruption.

What was the 2020 revolt of Congress MLAs? 

Sachin Pilot who was then deputy chief minister of CM Gehlot along with other 18 MLAs had initiated a revolt against the leadership of Ashok Gehlot in July 2020. Pilot had the demand that he be made the Chief Minister. The crisis lasted up to a month until a three member panel comprising of KC Venugopal, Priyanka Gandhi and Ahmed Patel addressed his concerns. Pilot was later removed from the deputy chief minister position and as state Congress president. 

What had CM Gehlot said in a speech in Dholpur? 

In Dholpur district of Rajasthan, which is the home turf of Vasundhara Raje, Gehlot said " Amit Shah, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Dharmendra Pradhan conspired together to topple my government.They distributed money in Rajasthan and they are not taking the money back now. I am surprised why they are not demanding the money back from them [the MLAs].”

In praising Raje, Meghwal, and legislator Shobharani Kushwah, he commended Raje and Meghwal for their firm stance against unethical political practices like horse-trading. Additionally, he lauded Kushwah for her decision not to support the BJP government and for actively listening to their concerns. 

In response to the praise given by Gehlot, Vasundhara Raje, the former Chief Minister of Rajasthan said “Mr. Gehlot is telling a lie for fear of his defeat in this year’s Assembly election. Heaping praise on me is a big conspiracy... No one can humiliate me as much as Mr. Gehlot did in my life,” she said that Mr. Gehlot's claim was "outrageous and untrue. "