Jaipur: The factionalism in Rajasthan Congress is getting bitter before the election of the Congress president. The supporters of former deputy CM Sachin Pilot allegedly throw shoes and bottles at CM Ashok Gehlot’s minister Ashok Chandna in a public meeting at Pushkar on Monday.
Reacting to this Chandna tweeted in a threatening manner late at night. "If Sachin Pilot becomes the Chief Minister by throwing shoes on me, then be quick, because today I do not feel like fighting. The day I come to fight, then only one will be left and this is not what I want," said Chandna in his tweet.
The incident of alleged throwing of shoes and bottles on Chandna happened in a public meeting for the bone immersion of Gurjar leader Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla in Pushkar, Ajmer.
As soon as Gehlot's Sports Minister Ashok Chandna reached the dais to deliver his speech, Pilot supporters started protesting by throwing shoes and bottles. They also raised slogans of Sachin Pilot Zindabad. The other minister Shakuntla Rawat also faced protests from Pilot supporters.
The event was a big show of strength of the Gurjar community and was organised by Vijay Banisla, the son of Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla. Thousands of Gurjar community people gathered there and leaders from both Congress and Bjp were present in the meeting.
Though Sachin Pilot did not attend the event his supporters were there in large numbers as he was a Member of Parliament from Ajmer in the UPA government and being a Gurjar leader has a large following in the Gurjar community.
The minister Ashok Chandna and Shakuntala Rawat are also from the Gurjjar community but they had to face the anger of Pilot supporters as they are ministers in government and are considered to be close to CM Ashok Gehlot.
It is to mention here that since the release of the schedule for the election of the Congress President, pro- Pilot legislators and leaders have been continuously making rhetoric against the Gehlot faction in public forums and demanding chief ministership for Sachin Pilot.
One of the Congress state vice-presidents Rajendra Choudhary said that it was Sachin Pilot who did the hard work to get the party back to power in 2018 and people still want Sachin Pilot to become CM.
Before him, MLA Ved Solanki and even the MLA Khiladi Lal Bairwa who was appointed as the chairman of the state Schedule Cast Commission by Gehlot raised similar demands.
More than 20 ministers and MLAs had also reached the show of strength on Sachin's birthday in Jaipur.
What is interesting is that Pilot himself has kept silent since the announcement of the Congress President's election program only his supporters are giving statements and protesting against Gehlot’s ministers.
The sources in the party said that these developments are related to the election of Congress president as there is a strong buzz of CM Ashok Gehlot moving to Delhi to become party president and these kinds of statements are being seen as pressure-building tactics of Pilot supporters.