"Sachin Pilot an asset for party...his questions should be respected": Rajasthan Minister Pratap Singh Khachariawas

Apr 09, 2023

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], April 9 : Rajasthan Minister and Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariawas on Sunday said that Sachin Pilot is an asset for the party, and if he is raising some questions, then his questions should be respected.
Khachariawas also said that he respects both CM Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, and is not against any of them.
The Rajasthan Minister's response came hours after Sachin Pilot raised the issue of the alleged corruption cases under BJP tenure in the state, not being investigated.
Talking to reporters in Jaipur, Khachariawas said, "Sachin Pilot is an asset to the party, if he is asking any questions, it must be respected. He has the right to raise issues. In a democratic party, everybody has the right to raise their voice".
"Sachin Pilot has written the letter to the Chief Minister, so only he can answer to it. I am neither against CM nor against Sachin Pilot, I respect both," he added.
The Rajasthan Minister said that the matter is related to the allegations of corruption under BJP tenure, and it should be investigated.
"Sachin Pilot has sought an investigation into the alleged corruption in the previous Vasundhara Raje government. If I have to fight against BJP's corruption, I'm ready. Even former party president and our leader Rahul Gandhi has accused BJP of corruption and demanded a JPC probe in the Adani issue. So, our party workers and people can ask what investigation we have done in the matter".
Hitting out at BJP, Khachariawas accused the party of instigating "communal tensions" for winning the state elections in Rajasthan.
"BJP has nothing to count as achievements of the central government. That's why it wants to win the elections by using riots as an electoral weapon. It tries to instigate communal tensions non every issue. Ahead of Ram Navami, the party had directed its workers to carry out riots. But, no untoward incident happened anywhere in the state, now what will BJP do?" the Congress leader further said.
Earlier in the day, Sachin Pilot reiterated his demand of investigating the alleged cases of corruption under the tenure of the BJP government in Rajasthan.
He said that despite writing to the Chief Minister multiple times, he has not received any answer from him.
"I wrote to the Chief Minister on March 28 last year, when I didn't get a reply, I wrote to him again on November 2. I urged him to investigate all the issues, that we raised, both I and CM Gehlot. Land mafia, liquor mafia, mining mafia or other cases. I said that elections are coming and we must show the public that there is no difference between our promises and our work," Pilot said at a press conference.
He further added, "We all know that the central government has been misusing CBI, ED, and Income Tax departments. 95 per cent of the ED investigation is against the Opposition parties. They (BJP) are trying to weaken the Opposition by putting false charges. While we are not misusing the agencies in the state, we are not even using them against the alleged corruption cases. Our workers and public should not think that we don't fulfil our promises".