Post meeting Scindia, Sachin Pilot remarks on 'gaddar' jibe; upholds ex-partymate's choice

In poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, former Congress leader and now BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia has met Congress leader Sachin Pilot. A day after their meeting when Sachin Pilot was asked about Scindia's move to join BJP and his party leaders' terming him as "Gaddar", Pilot said that every person has the right to decide for themselves. Pilot who tried a Scindia-esque move earlier this year which fell apart, also opined that the people's vote will decide who is correct and who is wrong. 

Pilot is in Madhya Pradesh for a two-day visit and has began campaigning for the by-elections to 28 assembly seats in the state that are scheduled on November 3.

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Madhya Pradesh has the tradition of welcoming everyone on its soil, therefore he (Pilot) is also welcome here, said Scindia, the scion of the erstwhile Gwalior royal family. Asked whether his (Pilot's) presence will make any difference in the bypolls, Scindia said in a democracy everyone has the right to campaign. To a question on his meeting with Pilot before the political crisis in Rajasthan a few months back, Scindia said he does not want to comment on the internal affairs of the Congress.

In July, Pilot and 18 other MLAs rebelled against the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan, leading to Pilot's sacking as deputy chief minister and state party chief. Following his patch-up talks with senior Congress leaders, the political crisis was resolved after nearly a month, though it is widely perceived to have been a loss for Pilot.

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Madhya Pradesh crisis & bypolls

The crisis in the Kamal Nath government started when Congress accused BJP of poaching 4 MLAs - two of which returned to Kamal Nath's fold. Soon, 22 MLAs including 6 cabinet ministers - loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia - quit the party, reducing the Congress to a minority government with 92 MLAs. Following this, Scindia resigned from Congress and then joined the BJP. After Nath stepped down as CM and the Madhya Pradesh Speaker accepted all 22 MLAs' resignation, all of them promptly joined BJP. Three more Congress MLAs have joined BJP since then - vacating 27 seats in the Assembly. 28 seats are up for polls now.

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