Sachin Pilot, whose rebellion has left the government in Rajasthan on an edge, Wednesday reiterated that he's not joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. Pilot had echoed similar views when talking to The Indian Express earlier. His remarks come a day after the Congress sacked him as Rajasthan's deputy chief minister and the party's state unit president. In a separate interaction with news agency PTI, Pilot asserted that he had worked hard to defeat the saffron party and bring the Congress back to power in Rajasthan. Accusing some Rajasthan leaders of fueling speculation of him joining the saffron party, Pilot categorically stated that he had no such plans. "Such speculation is being fuelled to tarnish my image," he said. Read in Malayalam Follow Rajasthan Government Crisis LIVE updates Sachin Pilot was on Tuesday sacked as deputy chief minister and the state Congress president after he did not show up at the Congress Legislature Party meetings on Monday and Tuesday. The party also cracked the whip on Pilot’s loyalists: Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were removed from the state cabinet, and the state presidents of the Youth Congress and Seva Dal were replaced. Pilot, who claims to enjoy the support of 18 MLAs, is staying at a hotel in the National Capital Region. All the 19 rebel MLAs were issued notices by Rajasthan Speaker C P Joshi after Congress sought their disqualification from the state assembly. The MLAs have been asked to respond by Friday. Reiterating his stand @SachinPilot tells @IndianExpress that he is not joining @BJP4India — Liz Mathew (@MathewLiz) July 15, 2020 Soon after he was sacked, Pilot tweeted: “Satya ko pareshan kiya ja sakta hai, parajit nahi (Truth can be harassed, not defeated).” In another tweet at night, he said: “My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all those who have come out in my support today.”
