The Cold war between Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and former deputy CM Sachin Pilot seems to be far from over as both the leaders are leaving no chance to counter each other. The latest is what they did for each other.
Gehlot had claimed a few days ago that he pushed Pilot’s name for ministership in the second term of UPA. Now, Sachin has claimed that Gehlot’s son Vaibhav was given a Congress ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections at his insistence.
Talking to media on Wednesday Sachin said, “The party high command was against to give the ticket to Vaibhav as the single name had come from Jodhpur and his father was sitting CM. Then I advocated for Vaibhav. I told Sonia and Rahul Gandhi that Vaibhav has worked in my executive and should get a chance because he had vied for a ticket earlier too but the party could not give him a ticket. I didn’t want that while I was the [state] president – and Ashok Ji had just been elected CM – his [Ashok Gehlot’s] morale be hurt. Hence, I completely lobbied and in the CEC, I asked both Rahul Ji and Sonia Ji that Vaibhav should be given a ticket.”
He said, that although he lost by a big margin, the son of another chief minister, Kamal Nath, was also given a Congress ticket and he won. “Leaders should not be insecure. They should not feel that if another person grows, they will take their seat, their space,” Sachin added
It is to mention here that Vaibhav was General Secretary in the party’s state unit when Pilot was at the helm.
Sachin’s statement is being considered as a counter to Ashok Gehlot’s statement that he made a few days ago.
Ashok Gehlot had said that Sachin Pilot had called him up seeking his recommendation to be a Union minister in the former United Progressive Alliance government under Dr Manmohan Singh. Gehlot claimed that he told Pilot that he had already recommended his name to the Congress for inclusion in the ministry.
Gehlot said that he recommended Pilot as a representative of the Gujjar community as he believed in communal harmony. The chief minister said he recommended a Meena leader also (Namo Narain Meena) as Union minister then as there was a caste war over the Gujjar demand for inclusion in ST quota.
