In an embarrassment to the ruling Congress in Rajasthan, party leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday visited the protest site where BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena is sitting on a dharna with the family of a man who allegedly killed himself recently while blaming cabinet minister Mahesh Joshi. “The family comes from a tribal community. It is shocking for all of us” said Pilot, who met the deceased Ramprasad’s father, brother and son among others. He demanded that “there should be an impartial and time bound investigation. The facts which have come to light should be taken into cognisance towards a thorough investigation. The victims should get justice.” Referring to a video put out by Ramprasad, Pilot said there are a lot of “statements, video statements,” and that these should all be investigated to bring justice to the family. Ramprasad Meena, 38, had hanged himself on Monday over an alleged land dispute. In a video recorded before his death, he had accused Mahesh Joshi and others of creating problems for his family in connection with a land dispute and blamed them for his extreme step. On his part, Joshi has denied the allegations saying he did not misbehave with the family when they had come to meet him on April 13. “All the accused should be investigated impartially,” Pilot demanded. Earlier in the day, Congress MLA Harish Meena, considered close to Pilot, also met the family members. The former deputy CM has been on a warpath with the party high command. After sitting on a protest demanding action in corruption cases during the tenures of previous Vasundhara Raje government, Pilot skipped the one-to-one dialogue of MLAs with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state president Govind Singh Dotasra, and AICC state in charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. Then, Pilot missed a state level workshop called by the Congress party. On Wednesday, Randhawa said that Pilot should have raised the issue of action in corruption cases inside the Assembly which is “the biggest platform,” during the debate on Governor’s address, as the CM would have had to respond to it then.
