5 min readJaipurJun 11, 2026 10:13 PM IST
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday again played down former CM Ashok Gehlot’s demand that Pilot accept his “mistake”.
Meanwhile, Gehlot defended his June 7 comments as a factual account “spoken from the heart”, which was meant to correct misconceptions over the 2022 Congress president episode. While expressing hope that the matter would now end, Gehlot again suggested that “everyone” should recognise their mistakes and move forward.
Talking to journalists in Dausa on the 26th death anniversary of his father, Rajesh Pilot, Sachin Pilot said, “I heard his (Gehlot’s) statement and what I remember is unhone bade prem se kaha ki jaise Ashok ji ka sneh aur lagaav unke putr Vaibhav Gehlot ji ke saath hai, utna he sneh aur lagaav mere saath bhi hai (With great affection, he said that he has the same love and attachment for me as he has for his son, Vaibhav Gehlot). We are all Congress workers and the message given by Rahul Gandhi ji to the entire country, of setting up mohabbat ki dukan (shop of love)….”
Pilot made the comments on the sidelines of a programme where he and other Congress leaders and workers paid tributes to his late father. As has been witnessed in the past, an all-religion prayer meeting was also organised to mark the death anniversary.
In his comments on June 7, Gehlot had said, “…Sachin Pilot should understand, he has been an MP and has been in politics for 15-20 years, he has gained experience. We are not his enemies. We have affection for him since his childhood. We used to visit his family since he was a child. Then, be it Vaibhav or him, they were a 2-3-year-old child. I still consider him a child.”
Meanwhile, Gehlot responded to Pilot’s latest remarks, saying, “Sahi kaha, galat kya kaha (He is right, what wrong did he say)?. I already said this, and he’s just saying it two or three days later. I said that we used to visit his house when he was a kid, and both of them were like children. So, he said the right thing; he didn’t say anything wrong.”
“And whatever I said (on June 7), I said it from the heart. I didn’t accuse anyone that day. If you read what I said verbatim, you’ll see that I wasn’t accusing anyone. I wanted to share all the events that unfolded before the nation. Because a message was created in the country that Ashok Gehlot, in order to remain Chief Minister, didn’t accept the post of Congress president. This was a huge accusation, or rather, a perception,” Gehlot said.
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He reiterated that the Congress national president is a very important position that has been held by stalwarts, asking who would want to give it up. He said that a consensus had developed within the party around his name. “I can say with confidence that at that time, the rank-and-file workers across the country had accepted the name that came up… they welcomed it. This report was from the entire country. Tell me, who could have refused in that environment?” Gehlot said.
“So, I said what I had to say,” he said, adding that he hopes that the issue will be over now. “This issue will also end, everyone will come together, and everyone will admit their mistakes, whether I or anyone else had made them,” the former CM said, adding that he had already said it in Jaisalmer, “Forget and forgive.”
“It was for all of us, not just those who left (the rebels),” he added.
“Let’s leave the past today and work together in the party’s interest. What mistake did I make? If all the leaders had understood that at that time, the situation would have been different today. Therefore, I don’t want to touch on this issue again and again… I hoped that all the leaders will understand what I was saying. Many did indeed understand it. Even if some haven’t, they, too, will gradually understand. They, too, will understand what is in the national interest and what is in the party’s interest. And a true Congressman will surely understand my feelings and then react; how they do so is up to them,” Gehlot said.