Congress leader Sachin Pilot at News18-India’s Chaupal.
Pilot said he “bent over backwards” to accommodate senior leaders in Rajasthan since he had assumed a crucial post at a young age and did not want them to feel they were being disrespected
God is the real ‘jaadugar’ while everyone else only indulges in ‘haath ki safai’, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said at the News18-India Chaupal on Monday, seemingly taking a dig at Rajasthan Chief Minister and his bête noire Ashok Gehlot.
Speaking at the event, Pilot tried his best to brush aside talks of his strained ties with Gehlot, stressing that disagreement was normal. “You can oppose anyone or disagree with them. There are many ways to express your disagreement. There are no differences between Gehlot and me. We together have to focus on people’s welfare.”
Pilot, while discussing the Congress’ trajectory as well as future in poll-bound Rajasthan, said it was the decision of the party’s top brass to appoint Gehlot as chief minister. Clearing his stand on the war of words between him and the chief minister, Pilot said no one could accuse him of using unparliamentary language, even though he was at the receiving end of many digs.
“My sanskaar are not such. You should ask the person who used this kind of language against me. I feel the selection of words is very important. My upbringing means I have always respected those elder to me. I felt bad but I realised that if I use the same kind of language, what will people think of us? Life is long and words once said cannot be taken back. There are multiple ways to disagree with someone but one must be careful of the language they use,” he said.
Clarifying his position, Pilot said he “bent over backwards” to accommodate senior leaders in Rajasthan since he had assumed a crucial post at a young age and did not want them to feel they were being disrespected.
Talking about the elections in Rajasthan in 2023, Pilot said it had become usual for people to assume that the state would choose a new party every five years. He added that the competition was tough, especially since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were also on the horizon.
Asked if it was possible to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pilot cited the example of Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress recently won in the assembly polls. “We worked hard in Himachal Pradesh and formed a Congress government there. There is no one whom the Congress cannot defeat. Opposition unity is important in this scenario. We have to think for the nation.”
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