New Delhi: A month-long “nightmare” is over, and Congress leaders need to stop conducting post-mortem on the Sachin Pilot-Ashok Gehlot controversy as the Rajasthan government is nowhere near dead, party general secretary K.C. Venugopal said at the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Jaipur Thursday.
The meeting, which ended late Thursday, was the occasion when Rajasthan CM Gehlot and sacked deputy CM Sachin Pilot came face-to-face, after the latter and his supporters had revolted.
“Venugopal ji said that this was a month-long nightmare which is now over. So there is no need for a post-mortem as that is only done on a dead body,” Avinash Pande, Congress general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan, told ThePrint.
Besides Gehlot, Pilot, Venugopal and Pande, the other senior leaders present at the crucial CLP meeting included Ajay Maken and Randeep Singh Surjewala.
The meeting, which took place at Gehlot’s residence in Jaipur, was also attended by all Congress MLAs, including the 18 ‘rebels’ part of Pilot’s camp, a day before the Rajasthan assembly is to be called into session.
‘Gehlot is my leader’, says Pilot
Pande also said there was “no bitterness” between Gehlot and Pilot at the meeting.
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“It was a very cordial meeting. Sachin also very wisely mentioned that ‘Gehlot ji is my leader’,” Pande said.
Venugopal is also learnt to have extended a ‘special thanks’ to the Congress’ central leadership, interim chief Sonia Gandhi and former party president Rahul Gandhi in particular.
Sources said Venugopal asserted that all the decisions taken by the top leadership have been “in consultation with Gehlot”.
At the meeting, Gehlot was seen shaking hands with Pilot, and the two leaders smiled for the cameras.
Jaipur: Congress leader Sachin Pilot meets CM Ashok Gehlot at his residence.
Congress Legislature Party meeting to take place here, ahead of the special session of the #Rajasthan Assembly tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/0Wc60ED1jc
— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2020
Earlier Thursday, Gehlot had tweeted that the leaders will “fight to save democracy with the spirit of forgive & forget, and move forward”.
We have to put all our energies in this fight to save democracy with the spirit of forgive & forget and move forward.
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 13, 2020
The Congress party had earlier announced that a three-member committee will look into Pilot’s grievances.
Meanwhile, in an opposition meeting chaired by former CM Vasundhara Raje Thursday, the BJP said it will move a no-confidence motion against the Gehlot government in Friday’s assembly session.
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