Reacting to an NDTV interview today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said both leaders are important to the Congress, he said this while referring to interview when Ashok Gehlot cold called his Rajasthan Rivals Sachin Pilot traitor.
“Both leaders are assets to the Congress,” Rahul Gandhi said, speaking to reporters during a pit stop in his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore.
The former president of the Congress rejected the idea that Mr. Gehlot’s unrestrained criticism of Sachin Pilot in the explosive interview and the stark divisions inside the party in Rajasthan would jeopardise his yatra in the state.
“Every time I enter a new state, I am told by you (media) that there will be a problem. Now you are saying there will be a problem in Rajasthan…,” Mr Gandhi said. “The fact is, this yatra has gone beyond the Congress. It is now the inner voice of India. No one can say where it will reach and where it won’t.”
The Congress yesterday said it would not hesitate to take “tough decisions” in Rajasthan and that Mr Gehlot shouldn’t have used “certain words”.
A gaddar (traitor) cannot be Chief Minister: Gehlot
In an exclusive interview to NDTV on Thursday, Mr Gehlot said: “A gaddar (traitor) cannot be Chief Minister. The High Command cannot make Sachin Pilot the Chief Minister… a man who doesn’t have 10 MLAs. Who revolted. He betrayed the party, (he) is a traitor,” Mr Gehlot said.
In reaction, Mr. Pilot stated that using such language by a senior politician was “unbecoming,” especially at a time when the Congress needed to present a united front.
The abrupt reaction from Mr. Gehlot leaves the Congress in disbelief.
“There are some differences. (Rajasthan) chief minister has used certain words which were unexpected. I was surprised. Ashok Gehlot shouldn’t have used certain words in the interview,” Jairam Ramesh told reporters.
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“We will find a solution to the Rajasthan issue which will strengthen our organisation. For this, if we have to take tough decisions, we will take them. If a compromise has to be made, then it will be done,” he said, according to news agency PTI.
The Congress leadership is thinking through a suitable resolution to the rift in Rajasthan, which will elect a new government next year, according to Mr. Ramesh, who said that the party “needs both leaders.” “But I cannot fix any time frame for this solution. Only the Congress leadership will decide the time frame for it,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
Rahul Gandhi’s yatra is set to enter Rajasthan on December 4 and in the Congress is desperate to ensure a drama-free stint as infighting peaks between its two biggest leaders in the state where elections will be held next year.
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