The Congress had warned Sachin Pilot against the fast.
Jaipur:
Congress leader Sachin Pilot today went ahead with his protest fast in Jaipur targeting his own government, defying his seniors who had warned last night that his move would be seen as an “anti-party activity”.
With Mahatma Gandhi as his backdrop, Sachin Pilot sat at the “Shaheed Smarak Sthal” for his one-day fast against corruption, largely aimed at his party rival Ashok Gehlot, whom he accuses of not acting on allegations against the BJP’s Vasundhara Raje.
The Gehlot government has denied Mr Pilot’s allegations of inaction, which have hugely embarrassed the ruling Congress just months away from the assembly election.
The Congress had warned Sachin Pilot against the fast.
“Sachin Pilot’s day-long fast on Tuesday is against the party interests and is anti-party activity. If there is any issue with his own government, it can be discussed in the party forums instead of in the media and public,” the Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said in a statement on Monday, in an effort to deescalate the friction between Mr Pilot, who has been eyeing the Chief Minister’s post for a long time, and Mr Gehlot, the current Chief Minister.
“I have been an AICC in-charge for the last five months and Pilot ji has never discussed this issue with me. I am in touch with him and I still appeal for calm dialogue since he is an indisputable asset to the Congress party,” Mr Randhawa said.
Though Mr Pilot is demanding action against the corrupt, the latest confrontation with the Gehlot government is being seen as his attempt to put pressure on the Congress leadership to settle the issue of who will be the key face of the party in Rajasthan in an election year.