New Delhi: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday ripped into his bete noire Sachin Pilot, calling a 'traitor'. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Gehlot called Pilot "gaddar" six times during the conversation while referring to his rebellion in 2020 that brought the Rajasthan government on the brink of collapse.
“A gaddar (traitor) cannot be Chief Minister," Gehlot said, adding "the High Command cannot make Sachin Pilot the Chief Minister... a man who doesn't have 10 MLAs. Who revolted. He betrayed the party, (he) is a traitor.”
“It must be a first for India that a party president tried to bring down his own government," Gehlot said about Pilot's revolt in 2020.
Without offering any evidence, Gehlot hinted at the involvement of senior BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah during Pilot’s revolt.
“Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan were involved. They (Mr Pilot included) had a meeting in Delhi," Gehlot alleged.
He further said that of the MLAs who sided with his rival, "Some got 5 crores, some 10. In fact, the money was picked up from the BJP office in Delhi."
The Rajasthan Chief Minister also added that the Pilot camp was visited by Pradhan at a time when the Congress emissaries were not given access.
Throughout the interview, Gehlot talked about his allegiance to the Gandhis that he said is career-long. "Whatever I have is because of them," Gehlot said.
Asked about the main reason behind his issues with Sachin Pilot, the Rajasthan Chief Minister said he's at a loss. He said that in fact, in 2009, when the UPA was elected for a second term, it was Gehlot who had recommended that the junior politician be made a Union Minister.
Gehlot said that he never really understood the oft-stated charge by Pilot of "sidelining him". He also said that it is a fallacy that Sachin Pilot was promised an equal term as Chief Minister.
"The question does not arise. But if he (Pilot) still says it, then ask Rahul Gandhi (if this condition was ever established)," Gehlot said.