Amid buzz over Sachin Pilot’s elevation, Ashok Gehlot revives ‘Manesar Kaand’, asks him to admit 2020 rebellion was a ‘mistake’

Amid speculation of Sachin Pilot’s elevation as Rajasthan Congress president, fromer state Chief Minister and senior party leader Ashok Gehlot on Sunday recalled his former deputy’s rebellion in 2020, known as the ‘Manesar Kaand’, and asked him to admit his “mistake” and “accept the truth”.

In a lengthy social media post on X, Gehlot also sought to dismiss the narrative that the events of September 25, 2022, represented a revolt against the party High Command.

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Gehlot and his loyalist MLAs had boycotted the Congress Legislative Party meeting, a move seen as the three-time Rajasthan CM’s revolt against Congress leadership.

“If I had revolted against the High Command, would they have kept me as Chief Minister?” Gehlot asked, framing the 100-MLA gathering as a show of loyalty to the leadership during a time of crisis.

He claimed that the MLAs did not want a change in leadership to someone associated with the rebellion, asserting that the party’s loyalty to the Gandhis remains as strong as it was during Indira Gandhi’s era.

Gehlot also pened up about the persistent friction within the state’s Congress unit and his strained relationship with Sachin Pilot.

Among the most striking revelations in Gehlot’s remarks was his claim that he played a pivotal role in Sachin Pilot’s ascent to the Union Cabinet.

Expressing deep personal hurt on X, Gehlot noted that despite his active efforts to secure a ministerial berth for Pilot, the latter never publicly acknowledged the support.

“When he called me, requesting help to become a minister, I facilitated it and ensured he got the position. However, he never once uttered those words from his own lips. That hurts,” Gehlot stated, emphasising that a simple acknowledgement of the assistance would have bridged the trust gap between them.

“If he had just told his friends that Ashok Gehlot helped me, my heart would have been full.”

Addressing the recurring political attacks regarding the Manesar rebellion, Gehlot remained firm that the issue was an internal family matter that should have been put to rest long ago.

He lamented the speculative reporting that frequently portrays Pilot as a candidate for Prime Minister, party president, or other high-ranking posts, suggesting that such coverage only harms Pilot’s political standing.

“There is no substitute for truth. I have been saying for six months, forget Manesar. Move on. Why is this issue still alive? Perhaps because of the people advising him,” Gehlot mused.

Despite the history of bitterness, Gehlot insisted that he holds no personal animosity toward Pilot, whom he has known since childhood. “We still meet, we laugh, we joke. We have no personal enmity; I have treated him like a son.”

Gehlot further called the party to focus on the broader national challenge. With the country and the Congress party facing critical times, he urged all leaders, from Pilot to himself and the current state leadership, to bury the past and work in tandem.

“We want the party to unite. The High Command’s faith in the Rajasthan Congress remains unshaken, as evidenced by Rahul Gandhi’s recent praise for the current leadership team. Let us fight this battle together,” he added, reiterating his lifelong adherence to the Gandhian principle: Truth is God.

Earlier, he reignited the presidential election debate within Congress in 2022. Gehlot was seen as a frontrunner to take over as Congress chief in 2022, but was seen to have preferred state politics.

He has said that if Sonia Gandhi and the Congress had made him the Congress President, would he have refused?

Gehlot’s remarks, coming almost four years after a show of strength in Jaipur in the presence of AICC observers, led to the central leadership giving up plans to bring a leadership change in Rajasthan ahead of the 2023 assembly polls.

“I know the stature of the Congress President’s post.. (Mahatma) Gandhiji has been President, Pandit Nehru, Motilal Nehru has been President, who hasn’t been, Sardar Patel has been party President, if Sonia Gandhi and the Congress were making me the Congress President, would I have refused? The situation was so created, I think it was a big conspiracy. The observers arrived suddenly, and I got defamed. People think that Ashok Gehlot wanted to remain Chief Minister and did not want to become Congress President, so the revolt happened,” he told reporters.

“Even people close to me abroad also think the same that Ashok Gehlot wanted to remain Chief Minister; he orchestrated the revolt. How can I explain to them what I am explaining to you? If even now something good comes, you do what I have told you….,” he added.

Sonia Gandhi was the interim president of the party in 2022. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was eventually elected as party chief in October 2022 and is set to be re-elected to the Rajya Sabha later this month. He defeated Shashi Tharoor in the election.

Gehlot also spoke about apparent efforts to replace him with party leader Sachin Pilot as Chief Minister.

“People feel that I wanted to be CM and I orchestrated the revolt. The media spread it. I stayed quiet. I stayed quiet as I had to tell Soniaji that, whether it was a revolt against Pilot or whatever, I don’t have anything (to do). I was the leader of the legislative party, and observers from AICC had come. Coming of AICC observers has significance. It was Kharge Sahab or Ajay Makenji and I couldn’t get the resolution passed,” Gehlot said.

“Although I had said at night to end the meeting for now and we would talk after calling another meeting tomorrow. That situation did not arise for us… so it… so that… didn’t happen… the resolution couldn’t be passed. I went and expressed my regrets before Madam, party has given me everything, this situation arose so I am apologising…,” he added.

The political turmoil in the Rajasthan Congress in April 2022 led to Mallkarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, who were AICC observers, filing a report to the party leadership.

(With inputs from ANI)