BJP may have spoken to Tendulkar: Sachin Pilot rubbishes rumours of joining saffron party
The development came two days after former Congress leader Jitin Prasada joined the BJP.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday rubbished rumours that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi has spoken with him and that he would join the saffron party soon, reported The Indian Express.
“Rita Bahuguna Joshi has said that she has spoken with Sachin, it is possible that she spoke with Sachin Tendulkar,” Pilot told reporters. “She does not have the courage to speak with me.”
Joshi, who joined the BJP in 2016 after quitting the Congress, had claimed that Pilot was not comfortable in the Sonia Gandhi-led party.
The development came after Jitin Prasada, who was once considered a close aide to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, joined the BJP on Wednesday. Besides Prasada and Joshi, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Tom Vadakkan are some of the popular faces who switched to the saffron party from the Congress in the last few years.
In August, Pilot had staged a revolt against the Congress, pushing the Rajasthan government into a political crisis. The turmoil, however, was resolved. The Congress had formed a three-member panel comprising Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal and Ahmed Patel to address Pilot’s concerns.
On Tuesday, Pilot had raked up the matter and said the party leadership was yet to address his demands after his revolt. “It has now been 10 months,” Pilot had said. “I was given to understand that there would be swift action by the committee, but now half of the term is done, and those issues haven’t been resolved. It is unfortunate that so many of the party workers who worked and gave their all for getting us the mandate are not being heard.”
Pilot also said that there was no reason for the committee to delay taking action in matters such as political appointments and Cabinet expansion.