Avinash Pande said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had been informed of the situation.
New Delhi:
Rajasthan Deputy Prime Minister Sachin Pilot has been held incommunicado for two days, State Secretary of the Congress Avinash Pande said on Sunday as the party tried to contain the crisis. by Mr. Pilot’s revolt. However, all members of Congress are in touch and the government of Rajasthan will complete his term, insisted Pande.
The veteran of the Congress also said that he did not know which deputies were supposed to have taken part for Mr. Pilot, who was long locked in a fight with the chief minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot.
“I have not spoken to Pilot for the past two days and I am trying to contact him. I have left messages for him,” he told PTI news agency, saying his silence was causing anxiety in state unity.
Just three months ago, former Congress chief Jyotiraditya Scindia also went underground, while orchestrating an uprising that overthrew the party government in Madhya Pradesh. He and 22 deputies later joined the BJP.
This risk was not there this time, said Avinash Pande. “All members of Congress are in touch with me and the government of Rajasthan is stable and will last for its entire term,” he said.
The Secretary General of the Congress said that the party leader, Sonia Gandhi, had been informed of the developments in Rajasthan.
Mr. Pande also said that everyone should cooperate with the investigation by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group (SOG) which checked Mr. Pilot.
The SOG had recorded a first information report or FIR based on a recorded telephone conversation between two men about alleged attempts to bribe congressmen to overthrow the Gehlot government. “Everyone should cooperate with Rajasthan SOG. There is nothing wrong with joining the probe,” he said.
Mr. Pande alleged that the BJP was trying to destabilize the Congressional government in Rajasthan.
“Their attempt is to create an atmosphere of uncertainty in Rajasthan. But, they will not succeed in their attempts,” he said.
A power struggle between Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot, which has emerged since Congress leadership chose the chief executive for the post of chief minister, appears to have deepened with those of Mr. Pilot’s camp claiming that there have been several attempts to undermine his authority.
The latest flash point between the two is a notice to Raj Pilot from the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group in the case of alleged bribery attempts by Congressmen to change sides in Rajya polls Sabha.
However, Mr. Gehlot pointed out that a similar notice had been sent to him, the chief government whip and certain ministers.
The stages of Sachin Pilot so far have drawn comparisons with the playbook of Jyotiraditya Scindia, which took its stride in March after having cared for more than a year of its resentment towards the direction of the Congress. He is now a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP.
(With PTI entries)
