Sachin Pilot’s demands fulfilled,Congress replaces Rajasthan in-charge

Last updated on February 15th, 2023 at 12:23 pm

As former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and his faction reunited with the Congress, party president Sonia Gandhi accepted his demand for the removal of Avinash Pande, the general secretary in charge of the state. Pandey has been replaced with Congress veteran Ajay Maken as the party’s general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan.

On Sunday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal signed an order confirming the development.

Avinash Pande has been considered a close aide to Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and his removal was one of the major demands of Pilot’s team.

Taking to Twitter, Sachin Pilot welcomed the move, saying that Ajay Maken’s appointment as the party’s general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan will boost the hopes of party Congress workers in the state.

In addition to this, Sonia Gandhi also fulfiled Sachin Pilot’s second demand for constituting a committee to address the grievances of legislators of his camp. Taking his suggestions into account, Sonia Gandhi constituted a three-member committee to resolve any issues among the party members in Rajasthan with senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Ajay Maken, and KC Venugopal on board. This decision was taken by the Congress leadership in view of the recent developments in the party in Rajasthan.

On Sunday, the Congres released a statement, saying: “Congress president has constituted a three-member committee to oversee and follow up the smooth resolution of recent issues in Rajasthan.”

Meanwhile, Ajay Maken has been moved to Rajasthan to oversee any crisis within the party. As per media reports, he will be staying in Jaipur until the crisis is resolved.

After the meeting on 10 August, Pilot had thanked the Congress leadership for assuring him that it will look into the issues he raised, and insisted that his dissent against was “never about a post but self-respect”.

On August 14, the Gehlot government won a trust vote in the Rajasthan Assembly with the support of Pilot and his team of MLAs.

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After the truce, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot met for the first time last week during when they were seen shaking hands and smiling for the cameras. While reports have ruled out any change in party leadership in the Rajasthan, but with the support of party’s top brass on Sachin Pilot and his camp’s side, he can potentially be projected as the face of the party in the state in the coming months. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have also assured Pilot of addressing his grievances for the greater good of the party in the state.