Sachin Pilot Says He Is Not Joining BJP

NEW DELHI: "I am not joining the BJP," Sachin Pilot said on Wednesday, asserting that he had worked hard to defeat the saffron party and bring the Congress back to power in Rajasthan.

Pilot said that some leaders in Rajasthan were trying to fuel speculation that he is joining the BJP and he would like to categorically state that he was not doing so.

Meanwhile, Congress had sent notice to Pilot and 18 other party members, for not attending CLP meetings. "If they don't respond within two days, then it will be considered that they are withdrawing their membership from CLP," said Rajasthan Congress in-charge Avinash Pande.

His remarks come a day after the Congress sacked him as Rajasthan's deputy chief minister and the party's state unit president on July 14.

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

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.

AICC spokesperson Randeep Surjewala announced that 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. Na