While the Congress is trying hard to revive its mass connect across India with its Bharat Jodo Yatra ahead of the big poll season, Rajasthan seems to be witnessing yet another internal rift between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot. This week, the two leaders’ public comments have put the ruling grand old party under attack from the rival BJP, months ahead of state elections.
After the pilot’s “Jadugar” (magician) remark on the investigation into the paper leak case, in an apparent attack on his own party’s government, followed by Gehlot’s “corona(virus) in the party” comment, BJP leaders hit out at the Congress outside.
The Union minister said “Now when a former deputy chief minister and one of the top leaders of the party is raising questions about the functioning of the party, then the chief minister and his leaders should understand the pain of the public.
BJP leader GS Shekhawat said
“It’s not just Sachin Pilot who has raised questions. Ministers Ashok Gehlot and MLAs keep questioning their government. The state government and its chief keep patting themselves on the back for implementing schemes, but state ministers and MLAs puncture the bubble”. Shehzad Poonawalla released a video asking Rahul Gandhi to unite his party leaders first before trying to unite the country.
Even Sachin Pilot loyalists are expressing their displeasure publicly. “If the coronavirus has crept in, there is a need for vaccination. If the right vaccine does not come at the right time, the results would be fatal for the whole of Rajasthan,” Ved Prakash Solanki, Congress MLA and Pilot loyalist, said in response to the chief Minister’s comment.
Months after calling the pilot “nikamma” (useless) in an interview ,Gehlot earlier this week had a “great coronavirus has entered the party” remark in a tacit reference to the Congress leader, prompting laughter from colleagues. sitting around The video was widely shared on social media.
This comes after Pilot – at an event – disputed the claim that no government official was involved in the paper leak case reported in the state recently. “Are kaha ja raha hai koi adhikari, koi neta isme shamil nahi tha.. to paper ki copy to tijori me hoti hai… yeh to jadugari ho gayi. Koi Jadugar hi hoga. (It is said that no leader or officer was involved in the paper leak case. But the copy of the paper is locked. Then some magician has to be involved),” Pilot said earlier this week.
On Friday, he appeared to be ramping up the attack again. “You get respect by showing respect,” he told the gathering. He even appeared to question the crowd about the terms used against him. “You can’t take back what you say once. When the polls come, we are pitted against each other. It should be done on the basis of issues. The issues that I have been talking about in the last five days have been based on farmers and youth issues. There have been no personal attacks on anyone. It is easy to indulge personal attacks and using foul language”.
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