Jaipur: The Congress party has removed Sachin Pilot from the position of deputy chief minister and Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief, tweeted Avinash Pande, general secretary of the All India Congress Commmittee.
तमाम कोशिशों के बावजूद, @SachinPilot और अन्य बाघी विधायकों के अपरिवर्तनीय निर्णय को मद्दे नज़र रखते हुए, बड़े दुःख के साथ हम ये घोषणा करते है की सचिन पायलट को उपमुख्यमंत्री और प्रदेश अध्यक्ष पद पर उनकी सभी वर्तमान ज़िम्मेदारियों से मुक्त किया जाता है।
— Avinash Pande (@avinashpandeinc) July 14, 2020
Two cabinet ministers, Vishvender Singh (tourism) and Ramesh Meena (food and civil supplies), have also been removed from their posts.
The Congress high command had offered Pilot the chance to attend a meeting in Jaipur at 10 am on Tuesday, failing which he was removed from the party.
Govind Singh Dotasra, who currently holds the education portfolio in the Ashok Gehlot cabinet, has replaced Pilot as PCC chief.
An hour ago, three senior Congress leaders – Vishvender Singh, Ramesh Meena and Deepender Shekhawat – who are close to Pilot had issued a statement saying that their agenda is to “restore self respect” and they will “not lured by inducements”.
“We have for years worked with dedication, devotion and service towards the party. And we are taking a stand to protect our dignity and self respect at a time when our leader is threatened with notices from the SOG under the charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy. This is unprecedented in Indian democracy and the Congress party, for whom we have toiled with sweat and blood,” reads the statement.
“Public humiliation of our leader is something that is totally unacceptable to us, and those responsible for meeting out this treatment need to be made accountable. We are seeking to restore our self respect and are not clamouring for any posts and positions contrary to false reports in the media,” it added.