Asserting that the Congress has been fighting corruption, party leader Sachin Pilot demanded on Tuesday that cases of alleged corruption related to the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state be investigated by his own government.
Pilot made these remarks as he ended his day-long fast at Shaheed Smarak in Rajasthan’s Jaipur around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, calling on the incumbent Ashok Gehlot government to take action against alleged corruption during the previous BJP rule under former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. He staged a day-long hunger strike despite warnings from his party that his actions were detrimental to the party’s interests.
Talking to the mediapersons, Pilot said, “I am protesting against the corruption that took place under the Vasundhara Raje government. I have been raising this issue for quite a long. This is the same issue, which Rahul Gandhi voiced both inside and outside the Parliament. This is the same issue for which Congress and other Opposition parties came together”.
“The allegations are not new, and I have not revealed anything new. They are already in the public domain. I wrote twice for action but no action was taken. So, I want that action should be taken so that people don’t think that there is a difference between what we promise and what we do,” he added.
Responding to AICC incharge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa’s claims that Pilot never discussed the issue with him, Sachin Pilot said, “Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa became in charge a few days ago. I had also talked to the earlier in-charge but this corruption issue is still there. We should speak against corruption and our fight against corruption will continue”.
The Congress MLA said that the Congress party has ‘zero tolerance’ on the issue of Corruption.
“Under the Vasundhara Raje government, we had exposed several corruption allegations. Land mafia, mining mafia, Kajri mafia and many more. We had promised of investigating all these cases, after coming to power. I wanted that under our government, a proper and transparent investigation takes place.
He further said that the investigation should not take place out of revenge, but based on the stated facts.
“I wrote to CM Gehlot more than a year back. I told him that we had together highlighted the corruption under BJP tenure, now when only 6-7 months are remaining for the elections, we should investigate the allegations,” Pilot said.
The Deputy CM added that he had to sit for the protest after he didn’t get any reply to his letters.
” The allegations of corruption against which, we (Congress) took to streets, protested, even went to jail. I want those allegations to be investigated after we have completed more than four years in the government. And I am sure that these allegations will be investigated,” he said.
He also attacked BJP alleging that wherever the party is in power, the issue of corruption is rampant.
“Wherever the BJP is in power, we (Congress) have been raising the issue of corruption. In Karnataka, we all know it is 40 per cent government. So here also I just want investigation against corruption, which is eating the country like termites,” Pilot added.
Notably, the protest has not gone down well with the party, as Congress said that it is against party interests and an “anti-party activity”.
The BJP, on the other hand, has attacked the Congress-led government, calling it the “last nail in the coffin” of the Gehlot administration in the state.
