BENGALURU: In the backdrop of the worsening crisis in Rajasthan Congress, precipitated by the dismissal of Sachin Pilot as Deputy Chief Minister and Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief on Tuesday, veteran party leaders in Karnataka took potshots at him, terming him a “young leader in a hurry”.
“It is a disastrous trend in politics.
We always look forward to young and dynamic leaders to take over the reins of the country. Jyotiraditya Scindia (a Gandhi family confidante who rebelled and joined the BJP in Madhya Pradesh) and Sachin Pilot are aspiring leaders with promise. Vulnerability of their aspirations has been misused by the BJP, which did the same with many young leaders in north-eastern states and in Karnataka, too,” said former chief minister M Veerappa Moily.
He said at a young age, Pilot was made Deputy CM and PCC president in one of the most important states, and the high command was taking him into confidence at every stage. “Youth leaders aspiring for higher positions have to wait and they cannot bulldoze the leadership. It is not a good trend in politics,” he said. The former union minister also expressed concern that the political crisis is panning out at a time when the entire country is facing a health crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad, who had been AICC General Secretary in-charge of 17 states, including Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, said both Pilot and Scindia were in a hurry and lacked commitment to the party that had given them important posts, including making them ministers. “The BJP is trying its best to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan, but as of now there is no threat to the government,” he added.
Moily has a word of caution for his party high command. “These days, our Indian National Congress leadership needs to be more vigilant, particularly those put in charge of states must keep the leadership informed. Not being vigilant is also one of the reasons for such developments, but that doesn’t give the BJP a handle to destroy young leaders,” he added.