Gehlot launched a scathing attack on Pilot dubbing him a 'gaddar' (traitor) and said he can never be made the chief minister of the state.
'Everyone recognises Pilot's work for the party'
There are reports that Sachin Pilot, who is engaged in a tussle for power in Rajasthan ever since the Congress won the state in 2018, may announce his own party.
The statement of Gudha came after former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi batted for the "one-man, one-post" concept in lines with the party's Chintan Shivir reforms amid possibility of Gehlot contesting election for the post of national president of the party.
Glimpses from Sunday's Congress rally at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi against 'Vote Chori'.
'He is not acting solo.' 'The plot may have people within the Congress and outside.'
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is reportedly upset and likely to skip a strategy meeting for the upcoming Kerala polls due to perceived slights and attempts to sideline him within the party.
He expressed confidence he and Pilot would work together after they agreed on a truce before the party high command.
There was speculation that he might meet the party's All India Congress Committee in-charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and other senior leaders, but sources close to Pilot said no meetings were fixed.
'Sachin Pilot had every legitimate right to demand to become CM.'
On a visit to his Tonk assembly constituency, the dissident Congress leader indicated that it was the last day before what was being seen as an ultimatum to Gehlot ends.
Amid some Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) constituents switching sides to the National Democratic Alliance, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday said the opposition alliance is 'strong' and the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting a 'frantic rejig' of the political landscape as it is worried over the collective strength of the coalition.
'You need a leader whom India can identify with and I cannot think of any other leader except Sachin Pilot in the Congress party.'
Some of them have also endorsed Sachin Pilot as chief minister. However, they added that whatever decision the party high command takes in this regard, they will accept it.
Sachin Pilot, Parliamentarian from Dausa, Rajasthan and a prominent member of the Congress' young brigade, draws inspiration from his father, late Rajesh Pilot, as well as party chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul."Of course, the star campaigners in the coming Lok Sabha elections would be Sonia Gandhi, Rahulji and our Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who has been making rapid progress after his heart surgery. Rahulji is one of the most acceptable politicians around,"he said
The move by Pilot to open a new front against Gehlot amid the factional fighting is seen as an attempt to pressure the party high command to resolve the leadership issue ahead of the year-end polls.
Amid speculation over Congress leader Sachin Pilot's next move, sources close to him on Tuesday said he was firm on his demands, including action against alleged corruption during the previous Vasundhara Raje government, and was waiting for a definitive response from the party high command.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot called Sachin Pilot a gaddar (traitor) on Thursday and said he cannot replace him as he had revolted against the Congress in 2020 and tried to topple his own government.
IOA president Suresh Kalmadi has invited Rahul Gandhi along with other young Parliamentarians to participate in the Indian leg of the Olympic torch relay at the behest of the organisers. Besdies Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada and Sachin Pilot would also be invited. Kalmadi has also assured the relay, which had seen worldwide protests, would go without any hiccup in India.
Marking a generational shift in state politics, Union Minister Sachin Pilot was on Monday appointed the Congress chief in Rajasthan where the party faced a rout in Assembly polls.
'The BJP may well be his ultimate destination.' 'In the process, he has probably shot himself in the foot.' 'It is unlikely that either Scindia or Pilot will be anything other than a No 3 or a No 4 in the Modi-Shah dispensation,' predicts Amulya Ganguli.
Why is Sushil Kumar Shinde eyeing the external affairs ministry? How Sachin Pilot is truly his father's son... Why has Montek Singh Ahluwalia become so secretive? All this, and more, in this week's Dilli Gupshup...
Shah said that it is "a 3-D government in Rajasthan and three Ds stands for 'dange' (riots), 'durvyavhar' (ill-treatment) with women and 'Dalit' atrocities.
"Rahul Gandhi is a traitor; such a traitor should be punished and should be hanged ...and shot," said BJP MLA from Baytoo in Barmer Kailash Choudhary.
The Congress units in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the only two states where the party is in government on its own, have passed resolutions that Gandhi be made the party's president.
'They wanted to prove that the BJP was behind all this, which was not the case. Then Deputy CM Sachin Pilot even said that no one was listening to them even when they wanted to tell their side of the story, so they all got together and reached the party's high command'
Both the Rajasthan chief minister and the man who would like to be CM couldn't help grinning at Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal's Hindi, responding to a journalist's question about whether party President Mallikarjun Kharge had gotten Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot to smoke the peace pipe.
'Putra-moh Congress ko nasht kar raha hai (Sonia Gandhi's love for Rahul Gandhi is destroying the Congress).'
Legislator Ved Prakash Solanki, who is considered close to former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, also criticised Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for his recent remarks praising Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Vasundhara Raje, for helping him survive the 2020 revolt by some Congress MLAs.
Singling out a person for the defeat in 2014 would not be right, Pilot said.
Sachin Pilot on how he expects to help the Congress regain lost ground.
The sources said, without naming anyone, the party leadership sent a "clear message" during the meeting that this is not a time of airing individual views but for amplifying the party's stand.
While believing that the senior leadership does not have what it takes to resurrect the party, members at the same time are often heard repeating, "It's the Gandhi family that holds the party together". Kavita Chowdhury explains
Several top Congress leaders including party general secretary organisation K C Venugopal, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala and Shashi Tharoor, wished the former party chief on her birthday.
Workers from the BJP and Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march organized by the BJP against the use of abusive language towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother. The protest turned violent, with stone pelting and vandalism reported. Police intervened to control the situation, and an investigation is underway.
'I appeal to Sachin Pilot and all his fellow MLAs to join today's Legislature Party meeting'
What provoked Ashok Gehlot's belligerence was Sachin Pilot's participation in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh. Gehlot was also aware that Rajasthan assembly Speaker C P Joshi had met Rahul in Maharashtra.
Rahul Gandhi will lead Congress from the front in the Lok Sabha as well as the assembly polls this year, Union Minister Sachin Pilot said, skirting the question whether he would be projected as Prime Ministerial candidate to take on Narendra Modi.
Reacting to Modi's comments, Sachin Pilot had said that there is no need for anyone other than his party and the people to worry about him.
Other Congress leaders who are learnt to have spoken with Pilot are Ahmed Patel, P Chidambaram and K C Venugopal.
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