Congress general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa ruled out the possibility of dissident leader Sachin Pilot floating a new party ahead of the crucial state polls. He said that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had recently talked to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in Delhi in which both the Rajasthan leaders “agreed to work unitedly”. When asked about the “formula” to broker peace between Gehlot and Pilot, Randhawa said he will not share it with the media. However, he said that both Gehlot and Pilot know about the formula.Randhawa said that 90 per cent of the matter was resolved and the rest was also not an issue.
“I am hearing this from you, I think there is no such thing. He (Pilot) did not have this in his mind before and does not have it now,” he told reporters when asked about speculations of the formation of a new party by Pilot.
“Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi listened to both of them carefully and both were told that they are the assets of the Congress… Both said that they will work together,” he said.
On the party’s plan to give responsibility to Pilot, Randhawa said, “We will definitely do it for everyone and will decide the responsibility of leaders according to their stature,” he added.
Gehlot and his former deputy Pilot have been engaged in a power tussle since the Congress formed government in Rajasthan in 2018 and the party is seeking to broker peace between the two ahead of the assembly elections in the state, slated for later this year.
There is intense speculation that Pilot may give a clear indication on his way forward on June 11 when he marks his father’s death anniversary in Dausa.
The infighting in the Congress’ Rajasthan unit had escalated a few weeks back with Pilot demanding action by the state government against “corruption” during the previous Vasundhara Raje government.
In a bid to defuse the tensions, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had held marathon discussions with Gehlot and Pilot separately on Monday, sources had said. They had later posed for photographs at Kharge’s 10 Rajaji Marg residence.
After the meetings, the party had said Chief Minister Gehlot and Pilot have agreed to fight the upcoming assembly elections unitedly and have left all issues to be resolved by the party high command.
*With inputs from agencies
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Updated: 07 Jun 2023, 02:43 PM IST