Congress' 2018 return in Rajasthan because of my previous work: CM Ashok Gehlot
Jaipur, Jan 26: In an apparent rebuttal to his former deputy, Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the Congress returned to power in 2018 because of the work done by him in his previous dispensation.
As he said this, he set the target of winning 156 seats in the assembly election due later this year.
Pilot, who has been locked in a power tussle with Gehlot for long, had recently said the return of Congress to power was due to the struggle of the party leaders and workers from 2013 to 2018, when he was the PCC chief.
In one of the public programmes, Pilot also spoke about the need for the older lot to make way for the younger generation of leaders.
Pilot has repeatedly said that the number of Congress MLAs, which had been reduced to 21 in 2013, was shot up only after the party high command made him the Pradesh Congress Committee chief in the state.
Gehlot, without naming Pilot, said the 2013 rout was largely because of the 'Modi wave' but within six months of the BJP government in state, people had realised their mistake.
"So an atmosphere was created and that was a big reason for the Congress to come back. Other reasons are always there, such as the party workers' struggle on the streets. But the main reason was that it was in the mind of people that they had made a mistake by changing the government in 2013," he told reporters after a state Reupulic Day function at Sawai Man Singh Stadium here.
Gehlot said that the BJP has no issues to rake up against his government and there is no anti-incumbency feeling among the people, who are happy with its schemes and programmes.
He said that state schemes such as Chiranjeevi Health Insurance are being talked about across the country, and employees are happy with the revival of the Old Pension Scheme.
"Our path is clear. When our government came in 1998, there were 156 seats, I was the PCC chief then. I would like to move ahead with 'Mission 156'. We have already started work in that direction," he said.
Gehlot said his MLAs supported him and helped him tide over the infight during the political crisis in 2020 that saved his government.
He said he fought hard to save his government and to serve people, and will continue to do so till his "last breath."
"When I speak, I speak after thinking, I do not speak anything without thinking. It is a God's gift to me that when I speak, the voice of my heart comes on my tongue," he said.
"This time there is no resentment among the public, no displeasure with the government, nor is there the Modi wave which was there earlier. I hope people will support me," he said.
On the Opposition, he said that the BJP has mastered the art of "horse trading" and toppling governments, which it has done in other states, but they failed in Rajasthan because of support of the MLAs and the public to him.
The CM said the state BJP has no real issues to target his government with and this is why it has been reprimanded by the high command.
Gehlot said that he and Rajasthan are on the target of BJP and this is the reson BJP chief JP Nadda and other leaders repeatedly come to Rajasthan.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
