Sachin Pilot ups ante against CM Gehlot, to go on hunger strike against 'corruption' during BJP rule

Rajasthan's former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot

The intra-party feud within the Rajasthan unit of the Congress has come again to the fore again, as former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot announced he would go on a one-day hunger strike on April 11 to seek action in the alleged corruption cases that pertain to the period when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in power in the state.

Pilot, while addressing the press in Jaipur on April 9, accused senior Congress leader and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of adopting inaction in the cases of alleged corruption dating back to the BJP rule.

Pilot said he had written to Gehlot over the issue, but has "not received any answer from the chief minister yet".

"You all know that the central govt is misusing the central agencies. On one hand where central govt is misusing the agencies to target the leadership of Congress, but in Rajasthan, we are neither using them nor misusing them. This was an important issue because the public should not think that we don't fulfill our promises," news agency ANI quoted Pilot as saying.

"On April 11, I will do a one-day hunger strike to mark my words that action should be taken against corruption in the state so that the public does not feel that we are not doing any work or we have not fulfilled any of our promises," he added.

The development assumes significance in view of the state elections due later this year. At the same time, it also reflects further deterioration of already souring relations between Gehlot and Pilot.

"No action was taken (by the Gehlot government) on corruption by the previous Vasundhara Raje government. While in opposition, we had promised that an inquiry would be conducted in the mines scam of Rs 45,000 crore," Pilot said at the press conference.

"With six-seven months left for the elections, the opponents can spread illusions that there is some collusion. Therefore, action will have to be taken soon so that the Congress workers feel that there is no difference between our words and actions," he said.

Gehlot and Pilot have been at loggerheads ever since the Congress formed the government in Rajasthan in December 2018 over the post of chief minister. In July 2020, Pilot had launched an open rebellion, and camped with 18 rebel MLAs in neighbouring Haryana. However, the party's central leadership had succeeded in brokering a truce within a few weeks.

With PTI inputs