Ashok Gehlot Meets Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge Amid Feud With Sachin Pilot

New Delhi:

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on Monday as the party stepped up efforts to resolve the infighting in the state unit.

Mr Kharge is also scheduled to meet Sachin Pilot later in the day.

Earlier, Mr Gehlot said the party high command is strong and it will never offer any position to any leader or worker to pacify him.

The meeting comes close on the heels of Mr Pilot’s “ultimatum” that if three demands he made from the state government were not met by the end of this month, he would launch a state-wide agitation. Mr Pilot has asked for a high-level inquiry into the alleged scams that took place during the tenure of the former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje government, as one of his demands.

#WATCH | Delhi: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot arrives at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. pic.twitter.com/ycJLVS9a9U

— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2023

Speaking to reporters earlier, Mr Gehlot said there is no such tradition in the party to offer posts to any leader in order to pacify him.

“As far as I know, there is no such tradition in the Congress where any leader demands something and the party high command offers to give that position. We have not heard of such a formula ever,” he said when asked about reports of a formula being worked out to rope in Mr Pilot.

Rubbishing such reports, he said it is only the creation of the media and some leaders may be getting such stories planted.

“Never has such a thing happened in the Congress so far and neither will it happen in the future. The Congress party and the high command is very strong and no leader or worker has the courage to demand any position. It does not happen like that,” the Chief Minister asserted.

Mr Gehlot and Mr Pilot have been engaged in a power tussle since the Congress formed government in the state in 2018. In 2020, Mr Pilot led a failed revolt against the Gehlot government after which he was removed from the posts of party’s state unit president and deputy chief minister.

Mr Pilot had last month defied a warning from the party and went ahead with a day-long fast targeting Gehlot over his “inaction” on alleged corruption during the previous Raje government. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)