Rajasthan
Sachin Pilot targets Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot again on investigating corruption cases during Vasundhara Raje govt | Jaipur News
JAIPUR: Former Rajasthan deputy CM Sachin Pilot ratcheted up Monday his demand that the state government investigate alleged corruption cases from the tenure of ex-CM Vasundhara Raje of BJP-a call that has unwrapped Congress‘s festering internal rivalry, with him on one side and CM Ashok Gehlot on the other.
He said at an event in Khetri of Jhunjhunu district that the Gehlot government hadn’t acted on the election promise of investigating corruption cases of the previous government. He asked: “What face will we show the public while seeking votes now?”
Pilot did a daylong protest fast in Jaipur on April 10 to press his own government to initiate probe into the corruption charges. “I have done it with grace without raising a finger at anyone after writing to act on the promise a year back. But about a week has passed, no action has been taken,” he said.
Pilot said it is the duty of Congress to provide a clean government, but by not conducting an inquiry into the corruption cases, the government is failing the people who voted the party on the back of “promises made when we went from village to village seeking votes”.
With the former state Congress president firing fresh salvos at 71-year-old rival Gehlot, speculation swirled that the party could either take a tough decision against him or try to mollify him. There were reports that former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath could be deputed to resolve the dispute, but Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa denied any such move.
Many in the party have come out in support of Pilot. Congress’s Gujarat in-charge Raghu Sharma justified Pilot’s demand, saying: “Under the leadership of Pilot (when he was PCC president), we contested the elections together and formed the government…the biggest issue was that of the previous BJP government’s corruption.”
Pilot loyalist and MLA, Rakesh Pareek, called for unity: “No one can stop the Congress from returning to office in Rajasthan if the party high command brings together Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot.”
He said at an event in Khetri of Jhunjhunu district that the Gehlot government hadn’t acted on the election promise of investigating corruption cases of the previous government. He asked: “What face will we show the public while seeking votes now?”
Pilot did a daylong protest fast in Jaipur on April 10 to press his own government to initiate probe into the corruption charges. “I have done it with grace without raising a finger at anyone after writing to act on the promise a year back. But about a week has passed, no action has been taken,” he said.
Pilot said it is the duty of Congress to provide a clean government, but by not conducting an inquiry into the corruption cases, the government is failing the people who voted the party on the back of “promises made when we went from village to village seeking votes”.
With the former state Congress president firing fresh salvos at 71-year-old rival Gehlot, speculation swirled that the party could either take a tough decision against him or try to mollify him. There were reports that former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath could be deputed to resolve the dispute, but Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa denied any such move.
Many in the party have come out in support of Pilot. Congress’s Gujarat in-charge Raghu Sharma justified Pilot’s demand, saying: “Under the leadership of Pilot (when he was PCC president), we contested the elections together and formed the government…the biggest issue was that of the previous BJP government’s corruption.”
Pilot loyalist and MLA, Rakesh Pareek, called for unity: “No one can stop the Congress from returning to office in Rajasthan if the party high command brings together Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot.”