Sachin Pilot has excluded a resolution that does not imply promotion to the position of chief minister.
Jaipur:
A day after Sachin Pilot proclaimed that he was not joining the BJP, citing a rapprochement with Congress, party sources questioned his intentions based on “evidence” from a hotel near Delhi where a Twenty rebel deputies from Rajasthan were camping. Additional rooms are being reserved at the Gurgaon hotel, sources said, citing the possibility that while speaking of peace on the one hand, Sachin Pilot is trying to add to his band of rebels. Sources say Mr. Pilot did not request an appointment with either Congress President Sonia Gandhi or the other Gandhis, showing a particular lack of interest in any truce after declaring rumors binding him at the BJP were an “attempt to slander him with the Gandhis”. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have contacted him in recent days.
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Sources say the possibility cannot be ruled out that Sachin Pilot’s strong refusal of any truck with the BJP is linked to disqualification notices served on 19 rebel deputies.
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The disqualification of the rebels will help Sachin Pilot’s chief opponent, Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan, by lowering the majority mark during a ground test. If the rebels can avoid it and vote as members of Congress, Mr. Gehlot’s government could fall.
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Mr. Gehlot and the Rajasthan Congress were firm on the opinions. MPs were asked to explain their anti-party activities or be disqualified if they fail to reach a satisfactory answer before Friday.
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While the rebels stayed away from Jaipur, Congress sent SMS, WhatsApp, email, and mail notifications and even pasted Hindi and English documents on the walls outside the rebel homes to make sure they get the message.
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Rebel deputies consult lawyers to ask the Rajasthan High Court for recusal notices. The court is closed until July 20 due to coronavirus. Sources say Mr. Pilot asked a senior congressional official and noted lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi to resume his case, but was told it would be “unethical”.
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Since Sunday, Mr. Pilot has been in Delhi with around twenty deputies. After reiterating yesterday that he was not joining the BJP, Congress asked him to “immediately stop accepting hospitality” in the Haryana, led by the BJP.
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The BJP has 73 deputies and needs at least 30 to take power in Rajasthan. Congress sources fear that Mr. Pilot will strive to achieve this goal.
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Pilot, sources said, was cold on any offer that did not imply that he was appointed chief minister, a position he was denied after Congress won the Rajasthan elections in 2018. In a Truce formulated by Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Pilot, 42, contented himself with the position of assistant to Mr. Gehlot, but that did not end their quarrel. Pilot alleges that the chief minister has constantly weakened and humiliated him over the next two years.
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Friday, Pilot was asked to answer questions about the BJP’s alleged attempts to purchase congressional deputies for a coup. Gehlot had ordered the investigation last month when he installed Congressmen in a hotel for 10 days to keep them away from the BJP’s incentives.
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Gehlot, who has been on the offensive against his former deputy, was asked yesterday to speak out against his attacks, which included a jibe that “good English and good looks are not everything”. The chief minister also doubled his horse trade allegations and accused Pilot of entering into an agreement.
