Sachin Pilot Kicks Off 'Jan Sangharsh Yatra' Against Ashok Gehlot Government

Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday embarked on a five-day Jan Sangharsh Yatra from Ajmer, in a bid to mount pressure on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress' central leadership ahead of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan.

Last month, Pilot held a day-long fast, targeting his own party's government in Rajasthan for inaction in alleged cases of corruption when the BJP ran the state.

Photo Credit: Congress leader Sachin Pilot during his Jan Sanghrah Yatra in Ajmer. PTI Photo

Before starting the 125-km-long five-day yatra, Pilot addressed a public gathering on the Jaipur Highway in Ajmer and raised the issue of leaking question papers for recruitment in different government posts.

He asked why was a bulldozer not run over the property of a Rajasthan Public Service Commission member arrested a few days ago in connection with the paper leak when the same was done to another accused in the same case.

Asserting that the youths are the future of the state and country, Pilot said his march was not against anyone, but against corruption and for protecting the interest of the youths. Gehlot and Pilot have been at loggerheads publicly for more than two years. In 2020, Pilot had led a rebellion in the party for a change of leadership in the state. However, Gehlot managed to survive and Pilot and some of his loyalists were later ousted from the state cabinet.

The chief minister, while addressing a public programme in Dholpur on Sunday, had claimed that he survived a revolt in 2020 by some Congress MLAs because BJP leaders Vasundhara Raje and Kailash Meghwal refused to support a conspiracy to topple an elected government through money power.

A couple of days later, Pilot targeted Gehlot over his comments, saying it appeared that the veteran Congressman's leader was Vasundhara Raje Scindia and not Sonia Gandhi. He had also rejected the charge that the dissidents, whom he had led, took any money from the BJP.