Pilot on Protest by Pulwama widows: “Issue should be Discussed Putting Ego Aside”
GG News Bureau
Jaipur, 11th March. Former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said on Friday, in an apparent attack on the Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan, that the widows of soldiers killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack should be heard putting ego aside.
Rajasthan police removed the widows from the protest site outside Congress leader Sachin Pilot’s house here early Friday morning and moved them to hospitals near their respective residences.
The widows have been protesting since February 28 and went on an indefinite hunger strike six days ago, demanding that rules be changed so that relatives other than children can be hired by the government on compassionate grounds.
Other demands include the construction of roads and the installation of martyr statues in their villages.
In response to the police action, Pilot told Tonk reporters that the widows’ concerns should be addressed sensitively.
“Even today I believe that we can fulfil demands like laying roads, erecting houses, and installing statues. A message should not go out that we are not ready to listen to the demands of the widows of the martyrs. It is another thing whether we agree to their issues or not but one should put aside his ego while listening to their demands,” the Congress leader said.
Pilot stated that the sacrifices made by jawans for the country are incomparable, and it is the responsibility of every government and individual to honor them.
If there are any demands other than the package given to the martyrs by the state and the Centre, they should have been heard sensitively in order to be resolved, said the former deputy chief minister.
Gehlot and Mr Pilot have been publicly at odds for over two years. Pilot led a rebellion within the party in 2020, calling for a change in state leadership. However, Gehlot survived, and Pilot and some of his supporters were later removed from the state cabinet.
Their feud has simmered since, with both senior Congress leaders publicly criticizing each other, including when Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra visited the state in December last year.
