Pilot camp plans farmers rally in western Raj while Gehlot fights phone tapping charge

Jaipur, March 18 At a time when BJP and Congress leaders are engaged in a war of words over the alleged phone tapping with the saffron party demanding Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's resignation, the Sachin Pilot camp is sitting silent on the issue. Sources said it is planning afresh to build a connect with the people and strengthen Pilot's presence on the ground by organising a farmers rally in western Rajasthan.

The alleged phone tapping, in fact, was used as a base by the Gehlot government for registering FIRs against two Congress MLAs from the Pilot camp and a Union minister from the BJP during the political crisis in July last year.

Why is Pilot quiet on the issue?

Answering this query, a Pilot loyalist said, "The Gehlot government seems to be getting trapped in its own web. So we need not speak on the issue. In fact, we have not yet got anything concrete despite been promised due recognition in January this year. Hence we are planning to strengthen our base and former deputy CM Sachin Pilot will soon organise a farmers rally in western Rajasthan to connect with farmers. Farmers from Barmer and Hanumangarh till date are fighting on their own and we shall stand with them," he added.

"In fact, there are a few leaders who want to brand us as leaders from eastern Rajasthan, so here comes the time to show them that we have a pan-state presence and are not limited to one part of the state. We shall soon organise a mega rally which will be a show of strength outside eastern Rajasthan. Our earlier rallies in Dausa and Chaksu were highly successful," he added.

Meanwhile, MLAs from the Pilot camp have started bringing up the biased behaviour of the Gehlot government towards them in front of the people.

Former minister Vishvendra Singh, a Pilot loyalist, on Wednesday night retweeted MP Diya Kumari's tweet which called for a CBI probe into the phone tapping issue. However, later, he deleted the tweet.

MLA Hemaram Chaudhary during the Assembly proceedings on Wednesday accused the Gehlot government of suppressing his voice and working in a biased manner against him.

Earlier, three MLAs from the Pilot camp Ramesh Meena, sacked as the Food and Civil Supplies Minister in July last year, Dausa MLA Murari Lal Meena and Chaksu MLA Ved Prakash Solanki accused the government of trying to suppress the voice of the legislators representing the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority communities by allotting them seats without microphones in the House.

"In fact, neither Pilot nor his supporters have got anything significant during the budget session which is known to MLAs and the people around," said a Pilot loyalist adding that we preferred to sit silent out of respect for the high command.

All we can do is wait and watch for we have been promised due recognition and credit by the Congress high command. Although it's been seven months since this promise, we are not losing hope and are confident of getting our due for we are working for the people and not to save our chairs. But, for how many months more do we need to wait, the high command should tell us as Assembly elections are scheduled in 2023 and we need to cover ground against the saffron party, he added.

If the BJP in Uttarakhand can solve the tussle in the party overnight, why is the Congress high command taking time to settle the situation in Rajasthan, he asked.

( With inputs from IANS )