Pilot sacked as deputy CM, party's Rajasthan unit chief

JAIPUR: The Congress on Tuesday sacked Sachin Pilot from the posts of Rajasthan's deputy chief minister and the party's state unit chief.

Cracking the whip on the rebel party leader, the party also removed his loyalists Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena from the state cabinet.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Governor Kalraj Mishra immediately after the Congress Legislature Party meeting where the decision to remove the three ministers was taken.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara will be the new Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief.

He said Sachin Pilot enjoyed the affection and blessings of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and was given political power at a young age. Yet, he and other ministers were trying to topple the state government as part of a BJP conspiracy, he added.

Sources said Gehlot briefed the Governor on recent developments in the state, caught in the grip of a power struggle between him and Pilot.