‘Forgive, forget and move on’: Sachin Pilot speaks on Ashok Gehlot’s past barbs, 2020 rebellion and more

Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot said he is following the mantra of "forgive, forget and move on" as advised by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former AICC president Rahul Gandhi. 

In an exclusive interview with PTI, Sachin Pilot was asked about Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's past remarks directed at him. He said, "Leave it! Who said what...I can be responsible for what I have said or not said. We should maintain dignity in political discussions." He added that it's time to move on and that "we need to forget and move forward".

"Whoever said all those words you mentioned, I did not respond in kind because it is not the way I am built and we now have to move on, let bygones be bygones, whatever was said, we need to forget and move forward. It is not about individuals or positions or someone's statements now. It is about the country and the party," Pilot was quoted by PTI as saying.

On 2020 Rajasthan rebellion

Sachin Pilot said the issues that he raised in 2020 were important for the party and people, and that the situation today is different. He said this while responding to a question on the rebellion he led against the Rajasthan government led by Ashok Gehlot in 2020 and the events of September last year when Gehlot loyalist did not allow a legislature party meeting to take place.

He explained the difference and said, "There was a time when the Rajasthan government did not have a Dalit minister, today we have four Dalit ministers, workers who struggled against five years of Vasundhara Raje government, went to jail, faced lathi charges, those people should be rewarded, not by giving power and positions but by appreciating them, involving them in decision making, they becoming stakeholders in the government of the day. So that has happened now."

He said the AICC at that point had made a committee to look into all the issues that were raised and "I am happy that we moved forward".

On ticket distribution in Rajasthan

The Congress fielded Ashok Gehlot loyalist Shanti Dhariwal from the Kota North assembly seat in Rajasthan. When asked if he had any objections to this, Sachin Pilot said he was "absolutely okay" with whatever decision the party has taken as dwelling on the past is not productive.

"I don't want to go into the allocation of (tickets to) individuals. Whoever the party felt was a winnable candidate whether X,Y or Z, that person was given the mandate after much consideration," he said. "Ultimately, like I said, the final decision lies with the Congress president and the top leadership, whatever they have decided, we have to work and make sure those people win the elections," he added.

Pilot added that the ticket distribution was by and large "very fair" with the winnability factor adhered to. "Ultimately, the party can give a ticket only to one individual. So after a lot of feedback, surveys, opinion of leaders, we gave tickets on winnability. It is not possible to satisfy everybody. By and large the distribution of tickets is very fair," he said.

Dhariwal was among the three senior state leaders against whom the party's disciplinary committee had issued notices after they did not attend a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in the state. A leadership change was on the cards at the legislature party meet.

On Rajasthan CM face

The Congress has not declared a CM face in the state. "We have never gone with a declared chief ministerial candidate. That has not been the tradition of the Congress. It has been clarified by the AICC," Pilot told PTI.

When asked about suggestions by some that his chances of becoming CM were hit by his 2020 rebellion, the Congress leader said, "I don't think it is a question of my chance, your chance or his chance. Right now we have to make sure the Congress party wins."

"Who gets what position is not decided by an individual. The longstanding tradition in the Congress party is that you fight elections, get a mandate, once you cross the majority mark, the MLAs and the leadership in Delhi will decide who will get what responsibility,” Pilot said.

When asked if Gehlot, by virtue of being the incumbent, does have a head start, Pilot said, “It is not a race where someone has a head start or a late start. It is a process.”

On Congress' priority in Rajasthan polls

Pilot said the Congress' priority is to work for ensuring the victory of all candidates selected by the party. This nation needs a strong Congress and to build a strong Congress "we have to win these state elections", Pilot said

"We have to win these states. These are heartland Hindi states where there is a bipolar contest. We won in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, those victories have given Congress workers a lot of tailwind," he said.

The elections in Rajasthan will be held on November 25. The results will be declared on December 3.

(With inputs from PTI)