The Congress took his comments as an affront as it urged him to refrain from saying or doing anything that might embarrass the party ahead of Wednesday’s assembly elections in Karnataka. Pilot also announced a five-day, 125 km Jan Sangharsh Padyatra from Ajmer to Jaipur on May 11 to expose corruption.
His comment was later seen as a comeback Gehlot Said at an event in Dholpur last Sunday that he survived the 2020 revolt by several Congress MLAs because the BJP’s Raje and Kailash Meghwal refused to support a “conspiracy to topple an elected government”.
Gehlot’s remarks were directed towards Pilot, without naming him, amid calls for the deputy chief minister to be promoted to the top post.
Pilot refuted Gehlot’s allegations that the “rebel” MLAs took money from the BJP to oust him. “After listening to the chief minister’s speech in Dholpur, it seems that their leader is not Sonia Gandhi but Vasundhara Raje Scindia,” Pilot told reporters.
Congress sources said that Pilot will look into the party’s plea to avoid creating a public ruckus ahead of the Karnataka elections. Sources said that Pilot has been repeatedly challenging the party and some steps may be taken to send a serious message to him.
AICC state in-charge Sukhjinder Randhawa or spokesperson Jairam Ramesh will issue a statement after polling in Karnataka is over.
Pilot had recently stayed away from Congress events and the 45-year-old pilot had on April 10 observed a day-long protest “fast” in Jaipur to pressurize the Gehlot government to launch a probe into alleged corruption cases the BJP has held since 2013. was in power. Raje as Chief Minister as of 2018.
Sources said Pilot complained to the Congress leadership after Gehlot lashed out at party MLAs linked to the 2020 rebellion. He has asked the leadership to publicly rebuke the Chief Minister and exercise restraint.