Rajasthan Congress truce raises more questions than answers: Will Pilot-Gehlot ‘unity’ hold?

The Congress central leadership stepped in before Pilot could step up his protests. After completing a Yatra this month against a government led by his own party, Pilot gave the Gehlot administration time till the end of the month to meet his three demands: action in corruption cases dating back to the tenure of the previous Vasundhara Raje government, compensation to students who suffered because of question paper leaks, and the restructuring of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC). Pilot warned that if his demands were not met he would hit the streets.

With the 15-day timeline set to end, neither the Congress leadership nor Pilot has given any clarity about what will happen to the ultimatum now that the high command has claimed both leaders will work “unitedly”. On the other hand, on Tuesday it was business as usual for CM Gehlot who had some advice for Pilot, just a day after the shaky truce.

Congress leader K.C. Venugopal with party leaders Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot after a meeting at party President Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, in New Delhi. (Express photo by Anil Sharma)

Asked if he and Pilot would now work together, Gehlot told reporters in Delhi, “If he is in the party, why won’t he? I believe that after sitting with the high command and holding talks, why won’t someone cooperate? We should move ahead with trust. By giving trust, trust can be gained. When the high command has trusted us, we will do so too … if everyone works together, our government will return to power … If someone has stayed loyal to the party and stays so in future, Sonia Gandhi ji had said once during the AICC convention, those who keep patience, they do get chance sometimes. I still remember this quote by Sonia Gandhi ji and I keep it in my heart.”

Gehlot said posts “don’t matter” to him and it was his duty to do what the high command required of him. “I tell all party workers, leaders that have patience. If you are patient, you will get a chance to work in the party. You have got chances before as well, you will get them in future too.”

In six months, this is the second time K C Venugopal, the party’s general secretary for organisation, has had to stand in front of the media flanked by Gehlot and Pilot and tell reporters that the Congress stands united in Rajasthan.

Last November, just before the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Rajasthan, Venugopal brought the two leaders together at a time when tensions were running high between the two after Gehlot called Pilot a “gaddar (traitor)”. The meeting on Monday was the first time the two came together since Gehlot claimed that Congress MLAs had taken money from the BJP during the 2020 political crisis, which was triggered by Pilot’s rebellion against him. He also thanked Raje and two other BJP leaders for opposing attempts to topple his government. Pilot then hit back saying that it seemed the CM’s leader was Raje and not Sonia.

The scenes on Monday from outside Mallikarjun Kharge’s house, where the two leaders from Rajasthan held talks with the Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, Venugopal and Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, were telling. While both Gehlot and Pilot stood beside Venugopal, they didn’t exchange any words among themselves and even avoided looking at each other.

While the leaders from both the Gehlot and Pilot factions have gone silent, the BJP did not shy away from attacking the Congress on Tuesday.

“The public of Rajasthan still wants to know about what Sachin Pilot said in Ajmer, that there is more than 50% corruption in Rajasthan. Will the public of Rajasthan let off the Congress without asking for the answers to these questions? Does Sachin Pilot has the courage now to say that there is no corruption in Rajasthan?” said BJP MLA from Chomu and the party’s chief spokesperson Ramlal Sharma.

State Congress leaders were cautious about going into the details of the truce but said the events of Monday had sent a good message.

“The BJP is baffled after seeing the photos from yesterday. Our party leaders are uniting, why is the BJP afraid? Those photos are happy photos. What happened yesterday, I wanted this to happen and it has happened. The two has got one and everyone is united,” Rajasthan Cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas told reporters.

Khachariyawas said he did not know about the formula based on which the truce had been brokered and said people would come to know about it later. The minister said that he can’t comment on whether Pilot would continue with his protests or not.