Sachin Pilot

Rajasthan’s Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, who has staged a rebellion against the Congress, has told a news channel that he is "not joining” the BJP.

Rajasthan Political Crisis: Sachin Pilot on Sunday declared open rebellion, claiming that the Ashok Gehlot government is in minority now as over 30 Congress MLAs are supporting him.

Rajasthan's Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot has made it clear that he will not attend the Congress Legislative Party meeting.

In the statement, Sachin Pilot, who is also Congress' state unit chief, said he will not attend the Legislature Party meeting scheduled to be held on July 13.

In his meeting with Ahmed Patel, Pilot said that the chief minister was trying to “sideline” him

His demand came as Gandhi has sharpened his attack on the Modi government for its handling of the border row with China and over increasing fuel prices.

Pilot also asserted that the seven crore people of Rajasthan had reposed their faith in and voted for the Congress party, and it was only after that the party decided who will be chief minister, deputy CM and ministers.

Pilot, after a visit to Kota's J K Lon Hospital, had told the media that the death of infants was a serious matter and the government could not be spared of its accountability.

"Our government has ensured the reach of public welfare schemes to the common man during its one-year tenure. The government has kept in mind the interests of every section of the society," he tweeted in Hindi.

Addressing a public meeting here, Pilot said the Congress has been delivering the promises made in its election manifesto in Rajasthan. He, however, did not elaborate.

Pilot said the party's position had strengthened in Haryana and Maharashtra after Sonia Gandhi took charge but it is an interim arrangement.

"People are unhappy with the atmosphere in the country. They have understood and are supporting the Congress which is evident from the results of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana and the Assembly bypolls in Rajasthan and the recently held local body elections in the state," he told reporters here.

In a tweet posted on August 9, Deora said that the two leaders have the "administrative, organisational and electoral credentials" to take the chair.

Ticking-off CM Ashok Gehlot for camping in Jodhpur for his son's election, Rahul Gandhi said the CM neglected the rest of the state

Todabhim MLA Prithviraj Meena said the chief minister should bear the responsibility for the election drubbing after the party failed to bag any of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

A bust of Vidyasagar in a college named after the reformer was vandalised in violence between BJP and TMC workers on Tuesday. The violence broke out during a roadshow of BJP president Amit Shah in Kolkata.

Addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Modi had targeted the former prime minister while attacking Congress president Rahul Gandhi and said, "Your father was termed Mr Clean by his courtiers, but his life ended as bhrashtachari no 1."

Pilot said that Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have always indulged in politics of "dividing people" on the basis of caste and religion and it was time to oust the BJP from power.

On the BJP's defeat in the last year's assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the deputy chief minister said it is a reflection of voters' mood and their inclination towards the Congress.

Pilot said Priyanka Gandhi has been working for long in Amethi and Raebareli, constituencies represented by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.