Congress doors have not closed for Sachin Pilot: Party secy Avinash Pande

Jaipur, July 15: The Congress' doors have not closed for Sachin Pilot, the party's national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande said on Wednesday, a day after the rebel leader was removed as state deputy chief minister.

Pilot has said he worked very hard to bring the Congress back in power in Rajasthan and clarified that he is not joining the BJP. "The party's doors have not been closed for Pilot. May God give... good sense and he realises his mistake. I pray that he comes out of the elusive trap of BJP," Pande said in a tweet.

Earlier in the day, Sachin Pilot asserted that he would not be joining BJP and that he had worked hard to defeat the saffron party and bring the Congress back to power in Rajasthan.

Pilot told PTI that some leaders in Rajasthan were trying to fuel speculation that he is joining the BJP and he would like to categorically state that he was not doing so.

His remarks come a day after the Congress sacked him as Rajasthan's deputy chief minister and the party's state unit president. Two loyalists of Pilot were also dropped from the state Cabinet.

Pilot, who was shown the door after he failed to attend the CLP meetings for two consecutive days, is understood to have the support of at least 18 legislators.