Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has strongly refuted the allegations made by current Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot that she and two other BJP leaders had helped save his government during the 2020 revolt of Sachin Pilot. In a statement released on May 7, Raje called Gehlot’s claims “an insult” and “a conspiracy” and challenged him to file a First Information Report if he had evidence that his MLAs had accepted bribes. She also called out his allegations against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, adding that Gehlot had insulted her “like no one else in Rajasthan”.
Gehlot’s comments, made in Dholpur, are seen as a double-edged sword that takes on Raje ahead of the upcoming state elections while also being directed at Sachin Pilot and his supporters, who could pose a challenge to his claim on the top job in Rajasthan in case of a Congress victory.
In July 2020, Sachin Pilot, then deputy to Gehlot, and 18 loyalists revolted against his leadership. The month-long crisis ended after intervention from senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Later, Pilot was removed as the Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president.
Gehlot attributed the rebellion in the Congress to a BJP plot and claimed that his government could be saved through the support of Vasundhara Raje, former Assembly Speaker Kailash Meghwal, and MLA Shobharani Kushwah. He also accused Union ministers Amit Shah, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Dharmendra Pradhan of conspiring to topple his government and distributing money in Rajasthan. “They are not taking the money back now. I am surprised why they are not demanding the money back from them (the MLAs),” he said.
Gehlot also called on the rebel Congress MLAs to return the money so they could carry out their duty without any pressure. “I have even told the MLAs that whatever money they have taken, ₹10 crores or ₹20 crores if you have spent anything, I will give that part or I will get it from AICC (All India Congress Committee),” he said.
Although Gehlot and Raje are seen as bitter political rivals, their detractors allege that they always “go soft” on each other, especially when it comes to corruption allegations. Both leaders have denied the allegations.
