 "Sachin Pilot")
Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot is scheduled to hold a day-long fast on Tuesday in protest against his own party's government in the state. Pilot has been at loggerheads with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for a while now.
The Congress party, however, issued a stern warning to Pilot and said that the fast would amount to "anti-party" activity.
Interestingly, the state is scheduled to have the elections for its legislative assembly this year.
Why is Sachin Pilot holding a fast?
On Sunday, Pilot said he will observe a day-long fast demanding action against alleged corruption in the previous BJP government. He said that Congress had promised that, if elected, to take action against the BJP but no action has been taken yet.
"The Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government had come to power with a huge majority. Throughout the tenure, we (Congress) attacked the government regarding the BJP's policies. But, the strongest point of criticism against the credibility of the government was regarding the issue of corruption under its tenure," he told reporters on Sunday.
"We played the role of a responsible Opposition and highlighted every corruption-related issue that came to the fore. The public also resonated with us, and as a result, BJP lost power in the state," he added.
Pilot further said that Congress had promised to investigate all the alleged corruption cases under the Vasundhara Raje government.
"We had also promised to the people that once we come to power we will conduct an investigation on every allegation of corruption. I have never been in favour of conducting investigations with a sense of revenge or hate. But, it is also the truth that our credibility as Opposition can only be maintained if we fulfil our promises," he said.
"No action was taken and to press for the demand, I will observe a day-long fast at Shaheed Smarak on April 11," said Pilot. He also said he has apprised the district administration about his plans.
Inaction by Ashok Gehlot
Pilot also said that he wrote a letter to Gehlot about probing the corruption cases more than a year back, but has not received any reply.
"I wrote to the Chief Minister on March 28 last year, and when I didn't get a reply, I wrote to him again on November 2. I urged him to investigate all the issues that we raised, both I and CM Gehlot. Land mafia, liquor mafia, mining mafia or other cases. I said that elections are coming and we must show the public that there is no difference between our promises and our work," he said.
He added that while the BJP-led central government is "misusing" the agencies, the state government is not even using them.
What did the Congress party say on Pilot's protest?
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of the state, said that any such protest amounts to "anti-poverty" activity and goes against the party's interest. Randhawa said he talked to Pilot during the day and told him to raise issues at party platforms instead of going public against its government.
"Pilot's day-long fast is against the party's interests. If there is any issue with his own government, it can be discussed in party forums instead of in the media and public," Randhawa said in a statement.
Randhawa said he has been an AICC in charge for the last five months and Pilot never discussed the issue with him.
"This is clear anti-party activity. I am in touch with him and I still appeal for calm dialogue since he is an indisputable asset to the Congress," he said.
PTI, however, reported that despite his party's statement, Pilot is likely to go ahead with the protest on Tuesday.
(With agency inputs)
