Not joining BJP, says former Congress leader Sachin Pilot

Sachin Pilot, the former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan who was sacked from the Congress party after his rebellion brought the Congress government in Rajasthan to the point of collapse has ruled out joining the BJP.

Speaking to the media he said he is still a Congress man. “I am not joining the BJP. I would like to make it clear that I have no plans to join the BJP. Attempts to link me to the BJP are to malign me in the eyes of the Congress high-command”.

Pilot spoke to the media one day after he was removed from the post of Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the chief of the party unit in the state. 42-year-old Pilot revolted after nearly two years of conflict with his main rival and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. He said he felt humiliated after being asked to appear for questioning in an investigation started by Gehlot into alleged attempts to bring down the Congress government.

This comes just three months after another senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia exited the party and joined the BJP.

Meanwhile many senior Congress leaders have spoken out regretting the exit of Pilot. Among them is Congress MP Shashi Tharoor who tweeted this:

I am sad to see Sachin Pilot leave Congress. I consider him one of our best and brightest, and wish it had not come to this. Instead of parting, he should have joined the effort to make the party a better and more effective instrument for his, and our, dreams. – Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP

Former Union Minister Kapil Sibal has also tweeted questioning the strategy of the leadership. “Worried for our party. Will we wake up only after the horses have bolted from our stable”.

Many leaders from the party are now openly expressing their frustration with the senior leadership’s failure to address the crisis facing the party.

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