New Delhi: With all eyes on the Congress’ next step in Rajasthan after Sachin Pilot’s fast in Jaipur, AICC in-charge of state Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Wednesday said he agrees with the issue of corruption taken up by Pilot but the manner in which it was raised was not right. Referring to past instances of indiscipline in the party’s state unit, Randhawa said the action was not taken many times earlier as well when it should have been done but this time “action will be taken”. He, however, did not specify what kind of action would be taken on the matter.
Randhawa also said he would study the chain of events related to Pilot’s fast as well as his remarks and then submit a report on it.
Earlier in the day, Randhawa met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and briefed him about Pilot’s fast and the current situation in the state. Randhawa met Kharge for about half an hour at his 1 Rajaji Marg residence here, sources said.
Defying the party’s warning, Pilot had observed a fast in Jaipur on Tuesday demanding action from the Ashok Gehlot government in cases of alleged corruption under the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan.
Speaking to reporters at the AICC headquarters here, Randhawa said, “I agree with the issue of corruption raised by Sachin Pilot but the manner in which he raised it is not right.
“He should have raised it during the Assembly session and spoken on the governor’s address that ‘what are you doing about the cases’. That would have been a great platform to raise the issue, people would have got to know that Sachin Pilot is raising the matter, and CM would have to respond to it.”
“If he had not raised it there, he could have raised it with me as I meet him more often than I meet the CM due to my relations with this family since 1986. He should have said ‘why arrests have not been made in the scam involving Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, arrest him, and also probe the case under Vasundhara Raje’. The things that he (Pilot) said in his press conference, I did not feel it is pro-party,” Randhawa said.
The AICC in-charge of the state said he will do an analysis of the sequence of events of not just now but from before.
“I will see where we are standing, where mistakes were made from our side or from his side and will submit a full report,” he said.
Asked why action was not taken against Gehlot loyalists who had defied the party’s call for a legislature party meeting, Randhawa said he would have responded if he would have been there.
“Action should have been taken in the past many times, however, it was not done but now action will be taken,” Randhawa said.
Pilot also reached Delhi on Wednesday. There was speculation that he might meet Randhawa and other senior leaders, but sources close to Pilot said no meetings were scheduled.
Taking strong objection to the call of undertaking a daylong fast by Pilot, Randhawa on Monday evening had said that any such protest against its sitting government would amount to anti-party activity.
The party, however, maintained silence on Tuesday when Pilot observed the fast.
As Pilot was leaving the site where he held the fast in Jaipur on Tuesday, he told reporters that Rahul Gandhi, the Congress and other opposition parties have united over corruption and financial irregularities, and claimed that his fast will speed up this movement.
The former deputy chief minister also said that he wrote two letters on this issue to Gehlot last year but received no reply.
“We had assured people that effective action will be taken against corruption by the former BJP government. I wanted the Congress government to take action but it has not happened in over four years,” Pilot said.
“This struggle against corruption will continue,” he said.
Both Gehlot and Pilot were keen on the chief minister’s post when the party won the state in 2018. But the Congress high command picked Gehlot for the top post for a third time.
In July 2020, Pilot and a section of Congress MLAs rebelled openly against Gehlot, demanding a change of leadership in the state. Pilot was stripped then of the posts of deputy chief minister and Pradesh Congress Committee president.
The month-long crisis ended after the Congress central leadership’s assurance to look into the issues Pilot raised.
Gehlot later used terms like “gaddar” (traitor), “nakara” (failure) and “nikamma” (worthless) for Pilot, and accused him of being involved with BJP leaders in a conspiracy to topple the Congress government.
Last September, MLAs in the Gehlot camp boycotted a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting and held a parallel one to stall what they felt was an attempt to make Pilot the new chief minister. Gehlot was then being considered for the party president’s post.