Raj. revolt resolution on cards as Pilot meets Rahul, Priyanka

New Delhi, Aug.10 (IANS): Amid efforts to bring rebel Rajasthan leader Sachin Pilot and his supporters back into the party fold, the sulking leader met Rahul Gandhi at his residence on Monday and a rapprochement seems to have been arrived at, top Congress sources said.

According to the sources, after Pilot met Rahul Gandhi at his residence, they again met in presence of party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and then, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi drove to 10 Janpath – the residence of interim party chief Sonia Gandhi, where all three held discussions.

Sources say that Congress has assured Pilot that his grievances regarding Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and state politics will be addressed and his previous status – Deputy Chief Minister and state party chief – will be restored.

Congress leaders claimed that the Pilot camp had approached top party leaders, including Ahmed Patel, for a deal and Rahul Gandhi was taken into confidence and supported the move.

Party sources had earlier said that a deal has been struck between the two sides and a formal meeting may take place on Monday itself.

The development came after party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi met Rahul Gandhi at his residence to work out the deal.

The Congress sources had said that there were no preconditions from both the sides.

According to them, Ahmed Patel had pitched in to resolve the issue that had threatened the survival of the Ashok Gehlot government after the Pilot camp raised the banner of revolt against it.

On Sunday night, a Congress Legislature Party meeting was held in a Jaisalmer hotel, where MLAs from the Gehlot camp are lodged, and there were mixed views on welcoming the rebels back into the party fold.

While a few MLAs suggested that the rebels should be accepted in view of the “wafer-thin margin” of the Gehlot government in the Assembly, others were not in such a forgiving mood.

Meanwhile, the Gehlot camp in Jaisalmer was keeping a wary eye on any development in Delhi. A senior Congress worker confirmed to IANS that a few Ministers from Rajasthan had been intimated about the meeting and the views of party lawmakers had been sought over the move to end the rebellion.