Charges and counter-charges are flying thick and fast in Rajasthan political arena, ever since the simmering differences between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and (former) Deputy CM Sachin Pilot blew into an all out war.
In his latest attack, Gehlot on Monday described his former deputy as a worthless person, ‘doing nothing’, but said he raised no question over it in the party’s interest.
In his statement, he, however, did not name him. He said no demand was raised to change the PCC president, a post which Pilot held for the last seven years in Rajasthan.
The Chief Minister said he “used to talk about conspiracy to topple his government but nobody believed that he (Pilot), having an innocent face, good command over English and Hindi and influence over the media across the country, can do this”.
Speaking to the media, Gehlot said, “Rajasthan is the only state where no demand was raised to change the PCC president in seven years. We knew that nothing is happening here. We knew he is ‘nikamma’ (worthless) and ‘nakara’ (idle), still we did not question this in the interest of the party.”
Meanwhile, Pilot has reacted strongly to allegations made by a Congress MLA that he was offered a bribe by the former to switch sides. Calling it an effort to malign him and hurt his credibility, he threatened to take legal action against the MLA.
“I am saddened but not surprised to be at the receiving end of such baseless and vexatious allegations being leveled against me,” Pilot said in a statement.
Congress MLA Giriraj Singh Malinga Monday alleged that Pilot offered him Rs 35 crore before the Rajya Sabha polls to switch to the BJP. Malinga also claimed he rejected Pilot’s ‘offer’ and had informed Gehlot.
“I was offered Rs 35 crore by Sachin Pilot to rebel against Ashok Gehlot. The meeting happened at his residence. He made the offer ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections and wanted me to switch sides. A similar offer was made in December too. I refused and informed Ashok Gehlot,” Malinga said.
At a time when the whole country is fighting against Covid-19, it is not right to indulge in political games. Those concerned in Rajasthan should understand this and focus on measures to save people from the pandemic.