Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who was referred to as a “grim (traitor)” by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, said that he was “sad and hurt” by the jibes. He, however, stuck to the official stance that the leadership issue “is up to the party” and “everyone needs to work together”.
In an interview with NDTV, he said: “Yes, I am a politician. But I am also a human being. I did feel sad and hurt. I don’t want to go into the past.”
“In public life I maintain a dignity in discourse… But you have to move on. And I have a job at hand and a mission at hand. We have to move forward,” he said. Pilot was instrumental in the Congress’ win in Rajasthan in the 2018 assembly polls in Rajasthan,
The animosity between Pilot and Gehlot was again in the limelight right before Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Rajasthan last week. However, later, the two leaders got together and put up a display of unity, but the concerns in the party over the soured relationship between the two top leaders remains.
Gehlot had last month said, “A gaddar (traitor) cannot be Chief Minister,” Gehlot said, adding “the High Command cannot make Sachin Pilot the Chief Minister… a man who doesn’t have 10 MLAs. Who revolted. He betrayed the party, (he) is a traitor.” He was referring to Pilot’s rebellion in 2020 that brought the Rajasthan government to the brink of collapse.
Amid the row between the two political heavyweights, Rahul Gandhi said that both leaders are “assets to Congress”. A day later, the two leaders made a joint Press appearance and said that despite the atmosphere of tension in the country, “the success of the yatra shows that people fully support the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi”.
Speaking about the need for a change in leadership to stage a comeback for Congress, Pilot told NDTV, “The leadership issue is up to the party. All of us have to work together… If we work now, we can form the government… revolving door of politics can change. Anti-incumbency can change to pro-incumbency. In many states, we have returned to power.”