Sachin Pilot

The Rajasthan High Court’s verdict that the petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 rebel Congress MLAs against the disqualification notices was maintainable and that status quo should be maintained until Monday has come as a major relief to Pilot.

The Congress admitted the order was a setback and said the battle will now shift to the Supreme Court. It also asked Pilot to spell out his demands.

But sources close to Pilot said the main contention of the rebel MLAs was that the Speaker’s notice was “biased” and that he was “acting in haste”.

“The court has stayed that notice…so it is a relief but the battle is not over,” the source said. The Pilot camp reiterated that there was no anti-party activity from their side which called for their disqualification.

“We respect the verdict of the High Court. And our contention has been that we were elected on a Congress ticket, we have worked hard for the party and we have said nothing against the leadership of the party. The grievances were against the Chief Minister and his way of working… we were well within our rights to raise those issues,” a leader close to Pilot said.

Moreover, the extra time, leaders in the Pilot camp said, gives rebels more elbow room as they reach out to others within the party.