Congress took his comments as a snub as he ignored calls to avoid saying or doing anything that might embarrass the party ahead of Wednesday’s assembly elections in Karnataka. The pilot also announced a five-day Jan Sangharsh Padayatra of 125km from Ajmer to Jaipur on 11 May to highlight the corruption.
His remarks were seen as a comeback after Gehlot he said on a program in Dholpur last Sunday that he survived the 2020 uprising of several congressional MLAs because the BJP’s Raje and Kailash Meghwal refused to support “conspiracy to overthrow an elected government”.
Gehlot’s remarks were directed at Pilot, without naming him as the rebellion centered around a call to elevate the deputy prime minister to the top post.
Pilot denied Gehlot’s allegations that “rebel” MLAs took money from the BJP in their bid to overthrow it. “After listening to the prime minister’s speech in Dholpur, it appears that the leader of him is not Sonia Gandhi but Vasundhara Raje Scindia,” Pilot told reporters.
Congressional sources said Pilot challenged the party’s call to avoid public outbursts before the Karnataka polls were examined. The pilot has repeatedly challenged the party and some actions could be taken to “send him a serious message,” the sources said.
AICC state chief Sukhjinder Randhawa or spokesperson Jairam Ramesh will issue a statement after the voting in Karnataka.
The pilot had kept away from congressional duties lately and the 45-year-old held a “quick” day-long protest in Jaipur on April 10 to increase pressure on the Gehlot government to launch an investigation into alleged corruption cases when the BJP was in office from 2013 to 2018 with Raje as prime minister.
Sources said Pilot complained to the congressional leadership after Gehlot lashed out at party MLAs linked to the 2020 rebellion. He called on the leadership to publicly chastise the prime minister and ask him to exercise restraint.
