Jaipur, July 15: Ahead of his press conference scheduled for Wednesday, Sachin Pilot was quoted by news agency ANI saying that he will not be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "I’m not joining BJP", Pilot said to ANI.  A report by NDTV quotes Pilot saying that he has no plans to join BJP and it is an attempt to malign him by linking him to the BJP.  "I am not joining the BJP. I would like to make it clear that I have no plans to join the BJP. It is an attempt to malign me by linking me to the BJP", Pilot said. He said he has  worked very hard to bring Congress back in govt in Rajasthan and he is still a Congress man. Rajasthan Political Crisis: Sachin Pilot, Rebel Congress MLAs Issued Disqualification Notice by Assembly Speaker, Asked to Respond by July 17.

On Tuesday, Pilot was removed from the posts of Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan and the PCC President. Along with Pilot, his two loyalist Ministers, Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena -- were also removed from the council of ministers. Soon after he was removed from the posts, Pilot took to Twitter  and that truth can be disturbed but cannot be defeated. "Truth can be disturbed, but not defeated," Pilot said in a tweet in Hindi. On Sunday, Pilot had announced that the Ashok Gehlot government in the state was in a minority since 30 MLAs were supporting him.

Here's the tweet:

The crisis in Rajasthan started last week after Pilot along with his loyal MLAs went without any communication with the Party. Pilot, who is the son of former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, has not attended the two crucial Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meetings on two days- Monday and Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Surjewala said that the Congress made Pilot a Union minister in his 30s, a deputy chief minister in his 40s. "We have given Pilot many opportunities. He has been an MP, MoS and a state party president. I am sad that Pilot and some of his colleagues have fallen for a trap laid by the BJP... This is unacceptable," Surjewala said at a press briefing.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2020 09:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).