New Delhi: Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot’s warning to the Congress that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s praise for chief minister Ashok Gehlot should not be taken lightly is bound to backfire.

Pilot drew a parallel between Gehlot and former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who quit the grand old party after over 50 years in August this year. He later formed his own political outfit, the Democratic Azad Party (DAP), in September.

Prior to that, the Prime Minister on February 9, 2021, had showered effusive praise on Azad as he bid a tearful farewell to the Congress leader on his retirement as a member of the Rajya Sabha after the completion of his six-year term.

Calling him a true friend, Modi told Azad, who till then was also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, that he will not let him retire from public life.

It is widely believed in Jammu and Kashmir political circles that the DAP has been floated to divide the anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vote to help the saffron party in the assembly elections, whenever these are held.

“We all saw how the Prime Minister praised during his visit to the Mangarh Dham. We all have seen similar things earlier in the Rajya Sabha as well when he showered praise on Azad. Everybody knows what happened after that. It is an interesting development yesterday and should not be taken lightly,” Pilot said, indicating that the simmering feud between him and Gehlot was set to escalate in the coming days.

In his speech at the ‘Mangarh Dham Ki Gaurav Gatha’ event in Rajasthan on Tuesday, the Prime Minister had said: “As the Chief Minister, Ashok ji and I have worked together for several years and Ashok ji was the senior- most among the chief ministers. He continues to be the senior-most chief minister even now. Ashok ji is also one of the senior chief ministers among those sitting on the dais. I thank him for attending this programme.”

Apart from Gehlot, Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present at the event.

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https://www.newsdrum.in/analysis/how-sachin-pilot-scored-a-self-goal