Rajasthan Crisis: Sachin Pilot to skip Congress meet on Monday, says 'nobody wants to leave his home, but can't continue with humiliation'
Jaipur/IBNS: Rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot will meet BJP President JP Nadda on Monday even as he decided to ignore a key legislative party meet called by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the same day, said media reports.
The meeting called by Gehlot is viewed as a bid to keep his government intact.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala will attend the meeting as an observer and leader Ajay Maken is also headed to Jaipur to tackle the crisis, said reports.
"Rajasthan Deputy CM & Congress leader Sachin Pilot not to attend Congress Legislative Party meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow. Pilot says Ashok Gehlot Govt in minority after over 30 Congress and some independent MLAs have pledged support to Sachin Pilot," a message from Mr Pilot's office read, reported the media.
Gehlot held a Legislature Party meeting at his residence today in the evening, after which three MLAs who had earlier shown support to Pilot were paraded in front of the media.
All three said their allegiance lied with Gehlot and they had visited Delhi on a personal errand, said reports.
According to senior journalist and political analyst Javed Ansari Pilot has said he doesn't want to leave Congress, but is left with no option.
"'Nobody wants to leave his home, but can't continue to put up with this kind of humiliation; my MLAs and supporters are extremely hurt and I will have to listen to them,' he told me on the phone earlier this evening," Ansari wrote in his blog.
According to reports, Pilot has been camping in Delhi Saturday.
An NDTV report said, he spoke to a Congress emissary nine days ago and conveyed Congres interim president Sonia Gandhi and her son MP Rahul Gandhi that he will not settle anything less than chief minister's post. The Gandhi's at the time, through their trusted emissary, informed him that he would become the chief minister at some point and that he was young enough to wait. There was already a lot on his plate with the deputy chief ministership, five ministries and the post of Rajasthan Congress president, they, reportedly, told him.
The report also said that Pilot believed that his decision to settle as the deputy chief minister of Rajasthan has not paid off.
Allegedly, Pilot has been in talks with BJP since last March for a takeover in Rajasthan and had been working in tandem with another rebel Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scinda who eventually toppled the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, BJP has said there is no conversation scheduled with Sachin Pilot, but NDTV reported that it has directed party national general secretary Bhupender Yadav, who is from Rajasthan, to "monitor the situation" very closely.
Reports have said BJP, too, cannot offer the post of Chief minister to Pilot and he is considering to form a regional party in case he breaks away from Congress and the saffron party also does not give him the position he is eyeing.
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