Rajasthan political crisis | Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat hints at Sachin Pilot’s entry into BJP

Any leader with a mass base should be welcomed, said Jal Shakti Minister Shekhawat

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday gave several indications that rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot may be joining the BJP after he was sacked from the posts of Rajasthan Congress president and State deputy chief minister.

Speaking to the media, Mr Shekhawat said “Any leader with a mass base who wishes to join the BJP should be welcomed.”

Senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Om Mathur had already left for Jaipur amid the unfolding drama after a second meeting of the Congress Legislature Party.

Mr. Shekhawat refuted allegations that the BJP had done anything to fuel infighting in the Congress in the State. “There is a trend in Bollywood that is now being seen in Congress — that when the producer, director, actors, technicians — find that their film is going to flop they try to float propaganda to distract from this failure. The Ashok Gehlot government has done the same,” he said.

Also read: Analysis | Sachin Pilot revolt brings into focus Congress’s leadership battles across States

He said the events of the last few days and the last one-and-a-half years of infighting in the State government had affected the development and welfare of the State.

He also declared that the Gehlot government was in a minority and that it was going to distribute patronage in the form of ministries and positions to safeguard itself to the detriment of the people of the State.

“When a husband and wife fight, it is easy to blame the priest,” he said on accusations that the BJP may have undermined the state government.