Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday played on factional differences at the top in the Rajasthan Congress, alleging that Sachin Pilot continued to be punished by the leadership since his late father Rajesh Pilot had “challenged” the Gandhi family.

Modi made the charge at an election rally in Bhilwara to dub the Congress as “dynastic”.

Sachin Pilot, a former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan, has long had differences with chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who he holds responsible for stymieing his ambitions for the top job in the state.

“Rajesh Pilot, only once, had challenged the Congress’ (Gandhi) family and that too for the betterment of the Congress. Although he surrendered later, this family is such that they not only punished RajeshPilot but continue to punish his son. Rajesh Pilot is no more but the family is venting out the rancour towards his son (Sachin Pilot),” Modi told the rally.

“Such is the dynastic politics of the Congress that even at the cost of the party, anyone who raised voice against the family will be crushed,” he added, urging voters to wipe out the dynastic party.

Modi didn’t elaborate but appeared to be referring to Sachin’s father, RajeshPilot’s opposition to Sonia Gandhi taking over the reins of the Congress party post the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Rajesh Pilot, who died in a road accident in 2000, had also contested the election for the post of Congress president in 1996 against the then Gandhi family nominee, Sitaram Kesri.

The PM clearly sought to take political advantage of the rift between Sachin and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot at a time when the Gandhi family has managed to bring the two warring leaders together to fight the BJP. Sachin has been campaigning aggressively against the BJP in Rajasthan while stressing that he had decided to “forgive, forget and move on”.

In 2020, Sachin had made an unsuccessful bid to revolt against Gehlotand since then the BJP has been trying to fish in the troubled waters of Rajasthan Congress.

At his rallies, Modi has been alleging that Congress leaders were busy to “run each other out” at the expense of governance. He also targeted Gehlot at two of his rallies and predicted that the Congress leader would never become chief minister again.