Jaipur, June 28 : Amid the ongoing salvos being fired upon former deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his team, Leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria said that "Pilot has been pricking Gehlot like a thorn and he (Gehlot) wants to remove him at any cost". Kataria said: "Pilot has a big vote bank with them. But Sachin is pricking Chief Minister Gehlot like a thorn. They want to take out this thorn by any means and throw it out, however, the reality is far from it. The people above (Congress High Command) also know that if there is a person in their party with maximum public support as of now that is Pilot. No one can deny this. The people above do not want to lose the public support. But he (Gehlot) wants to throw him out of the party somehow, so that he can rule the Congress as an autocratic leader." Recalling Gehlot's comments on Pilot made during the 'rebellion' in 2020, he said: "Pilot was called 'nikamma' and 'nakara'. Also the Chief Minister commented on his talent of English speaking skills. Now, Minister Shanti Dhariwal has also supported the Chief Minister. They are not seeing immense public support with Pilot." He further added that Pilot enjoyed immense support from the public due to which the Congress formed the government. "Had Pilot not been projected as the Chief Minister's face at that time, we might not have got only one seat from East Rajasthan, that situation would not have happened and we would have formed our government. This equation had created a huge obstacle in the formation of our government then." However, he also said, "There is no need for us to bring Sachin Pilot in BJP as the party will survive and form the government in Rajasthan on its own. One should not follow this misconception. The way Prime Minister Modi is sincerely trying to take the country forward, the masses mandate is going to be with the BJP. We will form our government". /IANS