Sulah the formula taiyyar hai (formula for truce is ready). But I won’t tell you, Congress general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said smilingly as the media hounded him at Jaipur airport to ask about the possibility of dissident leader Sachin Pilot floating a new party.
The AICC leader, however said that both chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot know about the formula. “I am hearing this from you, I think there is no such thing. He (Pilot) did not have this in his mind before and does not have it now,” Randhawa told reporters. He also said it is the media which is raising the issue.
The Congress leader reiterated that party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had recently talked to CM Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in Delhi in which both the Rajasthan leaders “agreed to work unitedly”.
“Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi listened to both of them carefully and both were told that they are the assets of the Congress… Both said that they will work together,” he said. Randhawa said that 90 per cent of the matter was resolved and the rest was also not an issue.
On the party’s plan to give responsibility to Pilot, Randhawa said, “We will definitely do it for everyone and will decide the responsibility of leaders according to their stature,” he added.
June 11 and Congress’ Rising Tension
Gehlot and his former deputy Pilot have been engaged in a power tussle since the Congress formed government in Rajasthan in 2018 and the party is seeking to broker peace between the two ahead of the assembly elections in the state, slated for later this year.
There is intense speculation that Pilot may give a clear indication on his way forward on June 11 when he marks his father’s 23rd death anniversary in Dausa.
Amid the speculations, Pilot has maintained silence. However, people close to him have rubbished claims of the 45-year old Gujjar leader resignation from the party. Some local reports quoted their sources saying that the reports on Pilot’s plan to launch a new party on June 11 have been “planted” by Ashok Gehlot’s “spin masters”.
The simmering tension between the two top leaders before Rajasthan elections was even visible at the recent Congress meeting in Delhi.
While Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal told media that Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi together tried to broker peace between the two rival, the pictures taken by the media on the day spoke otherwise.
Gehlot and Pilot also refused to take any questions and kept some distance from each other, without even sharing glances.
The Congress still hoped that the rivals would bury their differences. However, as soon as Gehlot and Pilot returned to Rajasthan, they began taking fresh digs at each other.
Pilot said that he remained firm on his three demands – a time-bound high-level inquiry into the alleged corruption of the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP state government, dissolution of the existing Rajasthan Public Service Commission and its reconstitution and adequate disbursal of compensation to students who couldn’t sit for various government-conducted exams owing to frequent exam paper leaks.
A report in The Federal quoted sources as saying that Venugopal had urged Pilot to not take any decision in haste while also imploring him to be flexible with his demands. Pilot was also reminded that he had been directly assured by Rahul that his concerns will be addressed and the party will accord him the respect and position he deserves in Rajasthan Congress.
The publication further quoted that sources, close to Pilot, as saying that the former deputy chief minister was peeved at being mocked regularly by Gehlot and was unhappy about the chief minister not meeting his demands despite directions from the Congress high command.
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