ON A WING AND A PROTEST

Sachin Pilot, once seen as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s chief ministe­ rial choice for Rajasthan, is now the party’s leading dissident.

- Rohit Parihar

On April 11, despite warni­ngs, he sat on a five­hour fast in Jaipur, to protest against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s alleged failure to investigate corruption charges against former BJP chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

Pilot went ahead with the fast even as Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, the All India Congress Committee gen­eral secretary in­charge of Rajasthan, issued him a written warning on the night of April 10, stating that any such proposed move will be deemed “anti­ party activity”. The symbolism was conspicuous as Pilot sat on fast with Mahatma Gandhi’s photograph in the backdrop. There were no pictures of Sonia Gandhi or Rahul, leaving many wondering if it was Pilot’s way to express his disappointment with the high command. Only three years ago, in July 2020, Pilot had suffered the ignominy of perhaps being the only state Congress president ever sacked for attempting to pull down his own party’s government. He was removed as the deputy CM too. Ever since, he has been engaged in manoeuvres of both one­upmanship and brinkmanship against Gehlot, without success.