Congress’s “Tough Decisions” Warning After Ashok Gehlot’s NDTV Interview

New Delhi:

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot shouldn’t have used “certain words” that he did on Sachin Pilot in the NDTV interview last week, the Congress said on Sunday.

The Congress would not hesitate to take “tough decisions” for the sake of the party in Rajasthan, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on the sidelines of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

“There are some differences. (Rajasthan) chief minister has used certain words which were unexpected. I was surprised. Ashok Gehlot shouldn’t have used certain words in the interview,” Mr Ramesh told reporters in response to a question on the explosive interview.

“We will find a solution to the Rajasthan issue which will strengthen our organisation. For this, if we have to take tough decisions, we will take them. If a compromise has to be made, then it will be done,” he said, according to news agency PTI.

In an unfiltered takedown of his long-time rival Sachin Pilot during an exclusive interview to NDTV on Thursday, Mr Gehlot repeatedly described him as a “gaddar” (traitor) who could never be Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

“A gaddar (traitor) cannot be Chief Minister. The High Command cannot make Sachin Pilot the Chief Minister… a man who doesn’t have 10 MLAs. Who revolted. He betrayed the party, (he) is a traitor,” Mr Gehlot said.

Mr Pilot, his former deputy, said it was “unbecoming” of the party veteran to speak like this at a time the Congress needed to project a united front.

Mr Ramesh said the party “needs both leaders” and the Congress leadership was considering a proper solution to the feud in Rajasthan, which will vote for a new government next year. “But I cannot fix any time frame for this solution. Only the Congress leadership will decide the time frame for it,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

The comments have blown up just as Rahul Gandhi heads to Rajasthan for his nationwide yatra. The march is expected to enter Rajasthan on December 4 as infighting peaks between its two biggest leaders in the state.