Sachin Pilot Tweets Minutes After Being Removed As Rajasthan's Deputy CM

JAIPUR: Sachin Pilot has been sacked from the posts of Rajasthan's deputy chief minister and the party's state unit chief, the Congress on Tuesday, July 14 said.

Soon after the decision of him being dismissed from every office in Rajasthan, Pilot, who has been incommunicado for three days now, tweeted in Hindi which translates to, "The truth can be harassed but not defeated." The message is indicative that he is parting ways from the party.

सत्य को परेशान किया जा सकता है पराजित नहीं।

— Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) July 14, 2020

Cracking the whip on the rebel party leader, the party also removed his loyalists Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena from the state cabinet.

AICC spokesperson Randeep Surjewala announced the decision after a Congress Legislature Party meeting held here amid a tussle for power between Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

After the announcement, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met with Governor Kalraj Mishra at Raj Bhavan and submitted a letter of support of MLAs.

Surjewala said Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara will be the new Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief.

Surjewala said Sachin Pilot enjoyed the affection and blessings of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and was given political power at a young age. Yet, he and other ministers were trying to topple the state government as part of a BJP conspiracy, he added.

"I regret that Sachin Pilot and some of his associates have been swayed by BJP's plot and are now conspiring to topple the Congress government elected by 8 crore Rajasthanis. It is unacceptable," Surjewala said.

In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs and the BJP 72.

The Congress also has the support of 10 out of 13 independents, and other party MLAs like Rashtriya Lok Dal (1), which is its ally. The Congress also considers Bhartiya Tribal Party (2) and CPI(M) (2) MLAs as their supporters.

Apart from its 72 MLAs, BJP's ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) has three MLAs.

Pilot on Sunday claimed that the Gehlot government is in minority as over 30 Congress MLAs have "pledged support" to him.