Ashok Gehlot returns Sachin Pilot overture: ‘We were never apart, love has always been there’

The former CM was speaking on the sidelines of a prayer meet to mark the 25th death anniversary of the late Rajesh Pilot, the former union minister and Sachin’s father.

In a solemn gathering tinged with emotion and political undertones, Sachin Pilot and his mother Rama Pilot paid tribute to Rajesh Pilot. The meet was observed as “Prerna Divas” or a day to remember Pilot’s “inspirational life”, and the programme witnessed a sarva-dharma prarthana sabha or an all-religion prayer meeting as well as bhajans of Mirabai and Kabir and Ram Dhun, the latter as modified by Mahatma Gandhi.

The prayer meet took place at the memorial site in Dausa’s Bhandana, where Rajesh Pilot had died in a road accident in 2000, when Sachin was 22.

Including the Congress’s entire top brass in the state, thousands gathered under the tents and beyond to remember the late leader, who still holds a significant place in the memory of the party and people in the region as a symbol of farmer welfare and grassroots politics.

Apart from Gehlot, state president Govind Singh Dotasra, Lok Sabha MP and the party’s state in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully, among current and former MLAs, MPs, former ministers, current and former district presidents, party leaders and workers were present on the occasion.

While there was no public address and the meeting was apolitical in tone, it became a subtle show of strength for Pilot. Indian Youth Congress national president Uday Bhanu Chib, All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) national president Varun Choudhary, as well as several AICC leaders, also turned up at the meeting. Party insiders said that at least nine sitting MPs, 47 MLAs – out of Congress’s 66 MLAs in Rajasthan – as well as 83 former ministers, MPs and MLAs, and 46 dignitaries, which included presidents of the party’s frontal units and cells in the state, turned up.

The meeting was also significant in terms of the relations between Pilot and Gehlot, who were at loggerheads five years ago, when Pilot led a rebellion of MLAs against Gehlot in 2020. Pilot was eventually stripped of his deputy CM and party’s state president post, while the usually composed Gehlot was panned for name-calling Pilot with “nikamma, nakara (useless, worthless).”

Taking the initiative, Pilot had visited Gehlot at the latter’s residence last week and invited him for the prayer meet. Sharing a short clip of this meeting on social media, Gehlot had said that, “Rajesh Pilot and I reached the Lok Sabha together for the first time in 1980 and were MPs together for almost 18 years. We are still saddened by his sudden demise. His departure was a big blow to the party as well.” While Gehlot and Sachin have met on multiple occasions in the last five years, these have mainly been driven by political exigencies and have mainly been at party events.

As leaders from across the state turned up at the meet, supporters chanted slogans for Pilot and his late father. A short film showcasing Rajesh Pilot’s personal and political journey from his birth on February 10, 1945, to his death was also showcased. A decorated veteran, Rajesh Pilot first became a fighter pilot in 1966 and participated in the Indo-Pak war in 1971 while flying a ‘Hunter’ jet. He eventually retired from the Air Force as a Squadron Leader and shifted to politics in 1979 after being inspired by Indira Gandhi. He became an MP for the first time in 1980 from Bharatpur and went on to become an MP six times, and also held various portfolios as a union minister.

An exhibition showcasing Rajesh Pilot’s life through his personal effects, including clothes, his air force uniform, turban, watch, as well as his photos and the books written on him, were also on display.

Speaking to journalists, Pilot said, “I am proud that while in the air force and then in politics, he established new dimensions that a person can stay untainted even while sitting on high positions, and that a person with a poor background can attain new heights.”

Pilot said that his father’s “truth, dedication, hard work and his smiling face will continue to inspire” him, and even though it’s been 25 years, he still feels that he and his blessings are with him today.