A day after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said both Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot were assets to the party, they presented a united face in public before attending a meeting with senior Congress leaders to review the preparations for Bharat Jodo Yatra which is set to enter the desert State this weekend. 

Sources in the meeting said that Gehlot and Pilot exchanged pleasantries in the presence of members of the coordination committee, including AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra.

“This is the Rajasthan Congress,” Venugopal said addressing the media jointly with Gehlot and Pilot. Venugopal recalled former party president Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in Indore on Monday, when he said both leaders are assets to the party.

“Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot have assured that the Yatra will be the one of the most successful in the country. I am sure that Rajasthan will also be the number 1 State,” Venugopal told reporters.

“When Rahul Gandhi has said that our leaders are assets then we are assets... Where is the dispute then,” Gehlot said when asked about Rahul’s observation.

Gehlot’s remarks were in sharp contrast to his remarks calling Pilot a “traitor”. Rahul in an interaction with the media had in Indore on Monday said that both leaders were assets to the party.

“Rahul Gandhi also meant that every party worker is an asset. This is the beauty of our party that after our top leader says anything, there is no scope (for further argument),” Gehlot added. He also reviewed the preparations for the Bharat Jodo Yatra route in the desert State that Rahul will lead into this weekend.  

Gehlot stirred a controversy last week in an interview when he said that Pilot is a “gaddar” (traitor) who cannot replace him as he had revolted against the Congress in 2020, and tried to topple the State Government. In response, Pilot said such “mud-slinging” would not help.

Briefing the media, Gehlot also said the main issue before the party is the 2023 Assembly election, and claimed the mood is in the favour of the Congress.

“We will win the Assembly elections. We have introduced several unique schemes and programmes which are benefitting people across the State. I get an overwhelming response from people when I go on visits. It means that the Government is going to be repeated,” he said.

Targeting the BJP, Gehlot said that the party should bother about itself instead of commenting on the Congress.

On reports of NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery’s concern over the revival of the Old Pension Scheme, the CM said the NITI Aayog or the Reserve Bank of India should first tell what concerns they had raised at the time of demonetisation.

He said the old scheme for Government employees was revived in the state for social security.