As Sachin Pilot simmers, Congress leadership reminds him about failed rebellion

Not much has been heard from the Congress on the issue. When asked by reporters in December last year, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said the three hadn’t been exonerated and that the issue was still pending.

Last month, the party’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa when cornered by reporters for a reaction days after Sachin Pilot had staged a hunger strike on April 11 to demand action in cases of alleged corruption by the earlier Vasundhara Raje government, appeared dismissive and said the daylong fast amounted to anti-party activity. He then told reporters, “You can’t dictate me. Have some patience. Why don’t you ask me about the leaders who have left the BJP in Karnataka? Why are you so concerned about the Congress? Even the public doesn’t want to know this. Only the BJP-supporting media is interested.”

When asked if any action would be taken against Pilot, the former Deputy CM of Punjab said, “Zarur karenge, hum action karnge, pehle charcha karenge (We’ll definitely take action, but first we’ll hold discussions).”

That was in mid-April. Since then, Rajasthan Congress hasn’t moved an inch on either the September 2022 incident or against Pilot.

Recently, Pilot once again publicly questioned the party over the lack of action against the Gehlot loyalists, saying that it amounted to “open defiance” and “a challenge to Sonia Gandhi’s order”.

“In the anti-party activities that took place, orders of Sonia Gandhi ji were openly defied, Maken sahab and Kharge sahab were insulted. The process of action had started but has now stalled. People are asking questions about this but I don’t have any answer. The AICC (All India Congress Committee) has the answer to this question,” Pilot told reporters on April 23.

Randhawa who was in Jaipur over the weekend and held several meetings with MLAs, besides meeting Assembly Speaker C P Joshi and other senior leaders, had a piece of advice for Pilot, reminding him of his own rebellion against Gehlot in 2020. “Some people also say there was a rebellion before corona (Covid-19 pandemic). I don’t want to live in the past. I’m talking about the future. We leaders should think about the future and take lessons from the past so that such mistakes don’t recur,” Randhawa told reporters.

A senior Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity, “Randhawa’s message was clear. Those talking about action on the events of September 25 should also remember that the party hasn’t taken any action against those who went to Manesar during the 2020 political crisis. It is unlikely that any action will be taken against either the Gehlot or Pilot factions before the elections. Randhawa is now trying to strengthen the party organisation.”

Underlining the party’s faith in Randhawa’s judgment on all matters involving Rajasthan, the Congress high command recently attached three party secretaries with their appointee who has, since then, allotted them responsibilities of various districts in the state. Since the 2020 political crisis, the Congress has not had a president in most district units.

“The Congress Rajasthan in-charge has been holding regular meetings with party leaders and keeping a tab on the participation of public representatives in party programmes, such as the Haath Se Haath Jodo Yatra. He is working to prepare the organisation before the elections,” said party spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi.