Sachin Pilot should have joined the effort to make the party better and more efficient, he said (File)
New Delhi:
Sachin Pilot is “the best and the brightest” in Congress and he is sad to see him go, tweeted party MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday after the former Union minister was sacked from the government of Rajasthan in following a political crisis triggered by the long struggle for power. with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
“I am sad to see Sachin Pilot leave Congress. I consider him one of our best and brightest, and I wish it didn’t happen. Instead of parting, he should have joined to the effort to make the party a better and more effective instrument for his dreams and for our dreams, “he tweeted.
I am sad to see @SachinPilot let @INCIndia. I consider him one of our best and brightest, and I wish he didn’t get there. Instead of separating, he should have joined the effort to make the Party a better and more effective instrument for his dreams and our dreams.
– Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 14, 2020
Pilot, who was forced to withdraw from the contention for the post of chief minister in 2018, was sacked on Tuesday from his deputy minister and the posts of Congress chief of Rajasthan.
The decision was made after skipping two meetings of the party’s legislative assemblies.
Mr. Pilot has always had friction with Mr. Gehlot. However, the differences escalated into a crisis after an investigative team asked him to join an investigation related to the alleged attempts to destabilize the state government.
His team, which resided in a hotel in the national capital, initially claimed to have the support of 30 deputies, enough to put the Gehlot government in danger. Sources, however, said he had at least 20 deputies on his side – 17 Congresses and three independent legislators.
Before the Sachin Pilot rebellion, Congress had 107 deputies in addition to the support of 13 independents and five members of small parties. That number has now dropped to 90 congressmen, seven independent members and three from small parties – 100.
Gehlot transported MPs to a hotel on buses on Monday.
Mr. Pilot will deliver a press conference Wednesday morning during which he is expected to put his papers. He denied that he joined the BJP but sources say he was in contact with the party.
It will be the party’s second high-level outing in a few months – in March, the departure of Jyotiraditya Scindia with 22 deputies led to the collapse of the Madhya Pradesh government of Kamal Nath.
Congress alleges that the assistance of Mr. Pilot, the BJP, is bringing about the fall of Madhya Pradesh from the government of Rajasthan.
