Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on October 19 claimed to have adopted a “forget and forgive” policy with regard to the July 2020 rebellion against his government by his former deputy Sachin Pilot. He also asserted that the Chief Minister’s post would not leave him, even when he wants to quit.
“I want to leave the post but this post isn’t leaving me. How many CMs in India can say that I want to leave but the post isn’t leaving me? And maybe it won’t leave me,” Mr. Gehlot told reporters at the All India Congress Committee headquarters on October 19.
He said that there must be something in him for the high command to have chosen him thrice to lead the State, but added that any decision taken by the leadership going forward would be acceptable to all.
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‘No fights in our ranks’
Responding to reports that there were sharp differences between him and the party high command on possible candidates for the upcoming Assembly election, the Chief Minister insisted that “there were no differences and every decision was being taken unanimously”.
“The Opposition [BJP] is upset as to why there are no fights happening in our ranks. You must be referring to Sachin Pilot. All the decisions are being made after taking into account everyone’s opinion,” Mr. Gehlot said. “I have not opposed giving tickets even to those who went with him [Mr. Pilot] and their tickets have mostly been cleared,” he added.
‘Only criteria is winnability’
His press conference came a day after the Congress central election committee (CEC) decided the candidates for around 100 constituencies, though the list has not yet been made public. Apart from taking a call on the rebels, the CEC also had to decide the fate of senior leaders who were issued a show-cause notice for indiscipline after they defied the high command directive to hold a Congress Legislative Party meeting.
On Wednesday, The Hindu had reported that a decision on tickets for three leaders was kept pending after discussion. There were also differences of opinion on some of the names that were thrown up by the party’s ground-level survey. “The only criteria would be winnability,” Mr Gehlot said, without naming anyone in particular.
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Defending BJP’s Raje
Asked to comment on the perception that his rival and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is being “sidelined” in the BJP, the Congress leader said she should not be punished because of him. “It would be injustice towards her,” he said.
Explaining the context of his statement, he said that when his government was under threat, he had noted that Rajasthan did not have a history of toppling rival governments. “I was told that she [Ms. Raje] shared a similar view,” he said.
The Rajasthan Chief Minister also took strong objection to the raids by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department against Opposition leaders even after the model code of conduct kicked in. He urged the Election Commisson and the Prime Minister to intervene.
