 "Sachin Pilot may launch his 'Pragatisheel Congress' on June 11: Report")
Rajasthan's former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot is finalising the details of his new regional party with the name of Pragatisheel Congress and is expected to launch it on June 11, the death anniversary of his father Rajesh Pilot, The Economic Times (ET) reported citing sources.
Since July 2020, Pilot has been rebelling against the state CM Ashok Gehlot and claimed the top post several times. In 2020, he claimed the support of 30 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) and threatened to leave the party. However, later Pilot could gather the support of only 19 MLAs. Pilot was left without the post of deputy CM and the state Congress President.
Earlier this year, on April 11, Pilot had gone on a day-long fast against corruption by Vasundhara Raje's government and inaction on it by the Gehlot administration. He also demanded a probe against the former commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Lalit Modi.
On May 11, he undertook a 125 km-long "padayatra" from Ajmer to Jaipur to highlight paper leaks and corruption in the state. He also gave a 15-day deadline to the Gehlot administration to investigate the charges, or he would launch state-wide protests.
Last month, Pilot posted a video story on his Twitter handle where he was seen with a group of people, purportedly from Rajasthan.
He captioned the video, "There is hope in my mind, there is a belief in the heart, will build a strong Rajasthan, when people are together."
While Pilot was visible on every slide in the video, no other Congress leaders or the party's symbol could be seen in it.