Sachin Pilot fired as Rajasthan deputy CM

The Congress has sacked Sachin Pilot as the Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and the state party chief. Along with Sachin Pilot, two Rajasthan ministers who had joined the Pilot camp have also been dropped from the cabinet. The decision to sack the rebel leader was announced by Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjeawal after Sachin Pilot skipped a second meeting of the Rajasthan MLAs.

“I regret that Sachin Pilot and some of his associates have been swayed by the BJP's plot and are now conspiring to topple the Congress govt elected by 8 crore Rajasthanis. It is unacceptable,” the Congress spokesperson said.

During the meet, the CLP meeting passed resolutions to sack Sachin Pilot as the Rajasthan Congress president. It authorised CM Gehlot to remove Pilot as his deputy. Following this, Ashok Gehlot sacked Sachin Pilot as the deputy CM. He also dropped two of the Pilot loyalist ministers, identified as Ramesh Meena and Vishwendra Singh.

After Sachin Pilot was removed as the state party chief, the Congress appointed Govind Singh Dotasra as the Rajasthan PCC Chief. The political crisis in Rajasthan began on Friday when the police sent a notice to Sachin Pilot, asking him to record his statement over the alleged bid to bring down the government.

Sachin Pilot has been upset since he was denied the Rajasthan chief minister’s post after the December 2018 assembly elections. Rebelling against Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot went incommunicado, while his supporters claimed to have the backing of 30 Congress MLAs and some independents.

In the 200-member assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs and the BJP 72. In the past, the ruling party has claimed the support of 13 independents, two MLAs each from the CPM and the Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP), and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

Speaking on the developments, Ashok Gehlot had alleged that the opposition BJP was trying to lure Congress MLAs. The BJP, however, dismissed the allegation, saying the developments only reflected a power struggle within the ruling party.