Jaipur: In an apparent attack on the Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan over the protest by the widows of soldiers killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Friday said the issue needs to be heard keeping ego aside. Needed The Rajasthan Police on Friday morning removed the widows from the protest site outside Congress leader Sachin Pilot’s house and shifted them to hospitals near their residential areas.
The widows have been protesting since February 28 and started an indefinite hunger strike six days back, demanding a change in rules so that their relatives and not just children can get government jobs on compassionate grounds. Their other demands include construction of roads and installation of statues of martyrs in their villages.
Reacting to the police action, Pilot told reporters in Tonk that the issues of widows should be heard with sensitivity. He said, “Even today I believe that we can fulfill their demands like building roads, building houses and installing statues. The message should not go that we are not ready to listen to the demands of the widows of the martyrs. This is a different matter. whether we agree or not.” Talk about their issues or not, but keep your ego aside while listening to their demands. the Congress leader said.
Pilot said that the sacrifice of soldiers for the country is incomparable and it is the duty of every government and individual to respect them. The former Deputy Chief Minister said that apart from the package given to the martyrs, if there is any demand from the State and the Centre, then it should be heard with sensitivity so that it can be resolved.
Gehlot and Pilot have been at loggerheads publicly for more than two years. In 2020, Pilot led a rebellion in the party for a leadership change in the state. However, Gehlot managed to survive and Pilot and some of his loyalists were later dropped from the state cabinet.
Their conflict has intensified since the two senior Congress leaders publicly used sharp words against each other, with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra hitting the state in December last year.