NEW DELHI : A couple of days after Congress functionares denied he had taken a swipe at Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot, though without naming them, sources said Rahul Gandhi had indeed slammed the Young Turks for leaving the party, stating their exits were no loss and would create room for “new leaders”.
The comments came in the midst of the revolt by Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan and seemed at odds with suggestions that the party was still looking to bring the former deputy CM back into the fold.
Rahul did not name any leader while addressing a meeting of the party’s student outfit, NSUI, but his remark was clearly pointed at Jyotiraditya Scindia who has joined BJP and brought down Congress’ MP government, and Pilot who has been sacked as deputy CM and Rajasthan Congress president amid stand-off with the party.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi spoke at length about future challenges to the economy and offered various bleak scenarios in the coming months.
During the commentary, according to a participant, he added, “You must be seeing that some people are leaving the party. You should not be perturbed over these developments. It will open the space for you.”
A member even claimed that Rahul used the phrase “dum daba ke bhaag gaye” (ran away with the tail between their legs), a mocking barb in Hindi for deserters. But this remark could not be confirmed.
Congress had issued denials that the young Gandhi made such a comment. But sources said the claim was inspired by the apprehension that the remark would undercut the overtures that were being made to Sachin Pilot through public forum with some in the party believing that a rapprochement was still possible.
Now, the opening for a compromise is fading with Pilot moving the court against the Speaker’s disqualification notices to rebel MLAs. Pilot spoke to senior leader P Chidambaram on Thursday.
According to a television channel, the Pilot camp questioned the compromise attempts from the Congress side, saying the rebel leader was sacked as deputy CM and state unit chief just hours after he spoke to AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over the telephone on Tuesday.
After the stand-off broke, five CWC members spoke to Pilot on the first day in a bid to persuade him to drop his aggression and return to Jaipur to restore normalcy. However, nothing has come out of these contacts between Congress and Pilot.
There was talk of senior leaders talking to Pilot on Friday but well-placed party sources made light of such claims, saying some stray contact did not hold much significance.