Congress sacrifices Sachin Pilot in organisation's conflict between youth and age

The strict action against Pilot is also a symbolic victory for the old guards who still want to retain their decisive voice in the organisation.

New Delhi: Rajasthan's former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot has been sacked from his post for raising a banner of revolt against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, besides being served a disqualification notice for going against the party discipline. The strict action against him is also a symbolic victory for the old guards who still want to retain their decisive voice in the organisation.

Sachin Pilot perhaps failed to assess the situation and the veterans in the party termed his action as an outcome of over-ambition to achieve the top post by keeping his individual interest above the organisation. The DNA analysis today revolves around Pilot's move that recoiled on him. 

Although he has clearly stated that he will not join BJP, it would however be more difficult for him to work in Congress. His bete noire Ashok Gehlot has now emerged more powerful. The Chief Minister today talked tough, accusing Sachin Pilot of being directly involved in the alleged horse-trading with the opposition BJP to bring down his government.

Gehlot said, "Horse trading was being done in Jaipur, we have the proof," while adding "We had to keep people at a hotel for 10 days if we had not done that, the same thing that is happening in Manesar now would have happened back then." 

The Congress has also sought the disqualification of Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident MLAs from the state assembly. Rajasthan Assembly Speaker has sent disqualification notices on the basis of the complaint made by the party. The dissidents have to reply by Friday as to why they did not attend two meetings of the Congress Legislature Party.

Amid this tough posturing, the Congress, however, said the dissident MLAs can still return to the party fold. Sachin Pilot and his supporting legislators have softened their tone. Sachin Pilot was expected to hold a press conference but it did not take place. He, however, clarified that he has neither met any BJP leader nor he is joining BJP.

The state police had earlier served him a notice on charges of toppling the government and treason which hurt his self-esteem. Pilot is understood to have told senior party leaders that he is being avoided in the Rajasthan government, officers were told not to listen to him, and cabinet meetings were not held for months.

Sachin Pilot is currently left with few options. He does not appear to be in a position to topple Ashok Gehlot's government, and in such a situation, he is not beneficial for the BJP. It is also not easy for him to float his own party in the current political scenario in the state. 

Another option before him is to remain silent in the Congress and tolerate Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who today admonished him indirectly. He said, "speaking good English, giving good bytes, and being handsome isn`t everything. What is inside your heart for the country, your ideology, policies, and commitment, everything is considered."

Ashok Gehlot advised the leaders of the new generation to do hard work and said "This new generation, they have become central ministers, state presidents without toil. If they had gone through what we did in our time, they would have understood." 

Ashok Gehlot's statement was tinged with a malic towards Sachin Pilot, who worked hard to rejuvenate the organisation in Rajasthan. Gehlot is also correct as popular leaders had the capability to mobilise millions to come on the road as they had toiled hard to have grassroots connections. 

On the contrary, the new generation leaders want to gain positions through shortcuts. The successful leader, however, is identified with his work and his grassroots involvement not by his good looks. 

What happened with Sachin Pilot proves that the younger generation is in a hurry and this haste is visible not only in politics but also in society. The new generation is far more ambitious and wants to achieve everything as soon as possible. This also becomes a cause of confrontation between the new generation and the old generation. 

In excitement and passion, the new generation forgets to restraint them, while in politics, this is counted as the greatest quality in a leader. No decision should be taken in a hurry, rather one should wait for the right opportunity and time. Sachin Pilot perhaps missed his point. 

Congress is currently witnessing a conflict between the old generation and the new generation of leaders. The party had earlier seen a similar struggle when it passed through a bad phase in the 1960s, after India's debacle in the 1962 war.

Congress' position was greatly weakened and it lost three by-elections to the Lok Sabha in 1963. The then Chief Minister of Madras Province, K Kamraj, suggested a plan to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, under which many senior Congress leaders were asked to leave their ministerial positions to work for the organization.

Along with Kamraj, 6 Congress Chief Ministers resigned, along with 6 ministers from the Union cabinet. These leaders were Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, and Babu Jagjivan Ram and Kamaraj was elected the new President of the Congress.