Rajasthan in-Charge Randhawa to Meet With State Unit Chief, Co-Incharges Amid Challenge From Pilot

Even as Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot has kicked off his Jan Sangharsh Pad Yatra from Ajmer to Jaipur, Rajasthan party in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has called a meeting of his three co-in charges and the state unit chief in Delhi on Friday, party sources said.

According to party sources, the meeting will be attended by Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara, co-incharges Qazi Muhammad Nizamuddin, Amrita Dhawan and Virendra Rathore this noon.

During the meeting, the leaders are expected to discuss the challenge thrown by Pilot’s “Jan Sangharsh Yatra”.

Pilot launched a 125-km pad yatra (foot march) from Ajmer to Jaipur on Thursday to raise the issue of corruption and cases of paper leaks in government recruitment exams.

The five-day yatra is being seen as a pressure tactic by Pilot on the party leadership, with just months ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in the desert state.

On Tuesday, the day former party chief Rahul Gandhi visited Rajasthan, Pilot slammed Gehlot saying his leader is Vasundhra Raje and not Sonia Gandhi.

Addressing a press conference in Jaipur, Pilot had said, “This fact has become clear from the speech of the Chief Minister, which he delivered the day before yesterday in Dholpur.”

Pilot raised questions on Gehlot’s statement “that praised BJP leaders, but tarnished the image of the party’s own MPs and MLAs”.

On Sunday, Gehlot said that former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and two BJP leaders, namely Kailash Meghwal and Shobharani Kushwaha, helped him save his government.

Speaking on Gehlot’s statement, Pilot said, “Gehlot should explain why there are two faces to his statement. On the one hand, he says that BJP was trying to topple the government and on the other, he says that Raje was trying to save his government. What does he want to say?”

On April 11, Pilot, who is also the former deputy chief minister, had defied a warning from the party to hold a day-long fast targetting Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on “inaction” over alleged corruption when the BJP was previously in power.

Pilot and Gehlot have been engaged in a bitter tussle for power in the state Congress unit and in government.

Pilot is continuously raising the issue of no action being taken against the corruption during BJP rule.