Appearing on The NDTV Townhall show in partnership with twitter India, Sachin Pilot has said that the main objective of the party today is “winning the mandate of people”, and it does not matter who is going to be the Chief Minister. He further said that the party which is contesting the election is identified by the manifesto it is putting forth and hence the execution of it is important irrespective of who becomes the CM.
In the show, he talked on range of issues that the state is facing. He also claimed that the Vasundhara Raje government has not delivered what it had promised.
On being asked as to what Vasundhara Raje has done for Rajasthan, he said,
“First, she has shown Amit Shah his place. Second, she has been an MP, MLA, Chief Minister. In her party, she is a great contributor”. Pilot also argued that there is no result is visible in the last 5 years of Raje’s rule. However, if the Congress is voted to power, it promises to deliver.
Sachin Pilot also said that for a decade he has been working on the issue of mal-nourishment which will be a major focus for the Congress in the elections.
On Rajasthan having no youth policy, he said, only policies cannot help and if the party comes to power they will empower and motivate the youth. Addressing the unemployment issue he said that he “won’t make any jumlas but what he can say is that the party will create an ecosystem that people can get jobs”.
He also denied the prevalence of Modi wave anymore and said, “No, this government has failed miserably specially in education sector and skill development.We have got just 40,000 jobs against promise of 40 lakh jobs.”
Mr Pilot while commenting on the Rafale deal, said, “ The government of the day is neither hearing nor responding to any of the allegations that people are making. They must come out and explain to the people when and how there was corruption in the Rafael deal”.
On being asked about PM Modi’s exclusive speeches, he said, “He is a great orator. But after a time, people want results, and that’s not happening”.
Answering a question of a twitter user on Congress losing out on social media game against that of BJP, he said that although BJP might be ahead in ‘whatsapping’ and has funds and resources, the Congress party has worked on the ground for the last five years and a few months of social media approach is not going to sabotage that.
Talking on playing politics by bringing mandir-masjid, Mr Pilot said, “ I think politics and religion are two separate matters. But it’s very evident when a congress leader goes to a holy site the BJP clearly has a problem”.
On being asked why has a list not been declared if Congress is so united. Mr Pilot replied, “One has to satisfy all groups and they have to heard out. And the list will be released very soon.
Replying to the host’s constant question on whether it would be nice to be the CM of Rajasthan, he jokingly said, “it would be nice to be the king of Brunei”. Further, acknowledging that everyone has ambitions, Mr Pilot said,” Everyone has ambitions but one should not be blinded by ambitions and work only to attain that position”. He also mentioned that the party has given him a lot and now he wants to give back to the party.
He also praised Mr Ashok Gehlot’s contribution to the party and the state, and said “his quality experience is of immense value”.
The audience was divided on the topic of having two faces for Rajasthan. While some agreed it doesn’t matter, some said it is important to know who they are voting for. To this Mr Pilot said if a voter wants to know who they are voting for, there is a manifesto. The manifesto has put together whatever made them suffer in last 5 years.
A twitter handle has been promoting Sachin Pilot as the next chief minister of Rajasthan. On this Mr Pilot said, “You know how social media works, without party unity, we would not have reached here. It is easy to make speculations.”
Sachin Pilot ended on the note that no matter who becomes the chief minister in Rajasthan, Congress, if voted to power, will work on agrarian crisis and job creation.
The assembly elections in Rajasthan is slated to go to polls on December 7.
(with inputs from NDTV)
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