Pilot slams BJP over Pachpadra Refinery credit claim
Synopsis
Congress leader Sachin Pilot has accused BJP of falsely claiming credit for the Pachpadra Refinery in Barmer, Rajasthan, saying the project was a UPA initiative with 85% work completed under Congress, while costs allegedly more than doubled to over Rs 90,000 crore under BJP.
Key Takeaways
Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot accused BJP of appropriating credit for the Pachpadra (HPCL Rajasthan) Refinery in Barmer, Rajasthan .
Pilot attributed the project's origin to former UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh , saying 85 per cent of work was completed under Congress (claim unverified).
He alleged BJP conducted the refinery's foundation-laying ceremony twice .
Project costs allegedly escalated from Rs 39,000 crore to over Rs 90,000 crore (figure unverified).
Pilot also referenced an alleged incident in which PM Modi was made to plant a peepal sapling instead of a khejri tree, and later deleted a related social media post (unverified).
The Petroleum Ministry and Rajasthan government had not responded publicly at the time of publication.
Congress leader and party general secretary Sachin Pilot on Sunday, July 5, 2026, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of appropriating credit for the Pachpadra Refinery in Barmer, Rajasthan, asserting the project was conceived and largely built under the United Progressive Alliance government. Pilot also took a sharp dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over an alleged tree-planting gaffe and a subsequent social media post deletion.
Context
In his post, Pilot wrote — translated from Hindi — that 'BJP ka koi saani nahin' (there is no match for BJP) when it comes to taking credit and spreading false propaganda. He attributed the refinery's origin to the vision of former UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the thinking of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, stating that 85 per cent of the refinery's work was completed during the Congress government's tenure. He further alleged that BJP conducted the project's foundation-laying ceremony twice, and that project costs ballooned from Rs 39,000 crore to over Rs 90,000 crore.
Pilot closed with a pointed rhetorical question about an incident in which, he alleged, Prime Minister Modi was reportedly made to plant a peepal (sacred fig) sapling while being told it was a khejri (Rajasthan's state tree) — and asked why the Prime Minister subsequently had to delete a social media post about it. The research background flags both the completion-percentage claim and the tree-planting episode as unverified from available public records.
Policy Backdrop
The Pachpadra Refinery, formally known as HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd, received its initial approval and first foundation-laying under the UPA government in 2013. The project is designed to process crude from Barmer's oil fields and is seen as a strategic asset for Rajasthan's economy and India's goal of expanding domestic petroleum refining capacity.
Long-gestation infrastructure projects that span multiple governments are a recurring flashpoint in Indian politics. Competing credit claims, cost overruns, and repeated ceremonial relaunches are familiar features of such disputes — and the Pachpadra project has become the latest arena for this pattern. The BJP government has cited the refinery's progress as a key development milestone in Rajasthan.
Stakeholders and Impact
The refinery is expected to directly benefit Rajasthan's oil-sector workforce, local contractors, and the state's broader industrial base. For Barmer — one of Rajasthan's more economically lagging districts — the project carries significant employment and revenue implications.
Taxpayers and public-sector investors have a direct stake in the cost trajectory. Pilot's allegation that costs more than doubled — from Rs 39,000 crore to over Rs 90,000 crore — will likely intensify scrutiny of project management and government accountability, even as the figures themselves remain to be independently verified.
What's Next
The Union Petroleum Ministry and the Rajasthan state government have not publicly responded to Pilot's specific allegations as of the time of publication. The commissioning timeline for the refinery remains a key data point that observers are watching.
With Rajasthan remaining politically competitive, the Pachpadra project is likely to stay at the centre of the Congress-BJP credit war in the state. Pilot's intervention, coming in his capacity as Chhattisgarh in-charge and a senior party voice on Rajasthan affairs, signals that Congress intends to contest the BJP's infrastructure narrative aggressively in the run-up to future electoral cycles.
Point of View
Where the Pachpadra project is politically symbolic. The double foundation-laying allegation, if substantiated, would be a potent line of attack, since repeated ceremonial relaunches are widely seen as evidence of governance theatre over delivery. The closing jibe about the tree-planting episode and a deleted prime-ministerial post is designed to embarrass rather than inform — but it reflects a broader Congress strategy of using social media missteps to humanise the BJP's credibility gap. With Rajasthan remaining a fiercely contested state, this exchange is an early marker of how both parties intend to fight the infrastructure-credit battle ahead of future elections.
NationPress
5 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Pachpadra Refinery and where is it located?
The Pachpadra Refinery, formally called HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd, is an oil refinery project in Barmer district, Rajasthan . It is designed to process crude oil from Barmer's oil fields and boost India's domestic petroleum refining capacity.
What did Sachin Pilot say about the Pachpadra Refinery?
Pilot claimed that the refinery was conceived under the UPA government — crediting Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh — and that 85 per cent of work was done under Congress. He alleged BJP held the foundation ceremony twice and let costs rise from Rs 39,000 crore to over Rs 90,000 crore .
When was the Pachpadra Refinery first approved?
The project received its initial approval and first foundation-laying under the UPA government in 2013 .
What is the current cost of the Pachpadra Refinery project?
According to Sachin Pilot's post, the project cost escalated from Rs 39,000 crore to over Rs 90,000 crore . These figures have not been independently verified and no official response had been issued at the time of publication.
What was the tree-planting controversy Sachin Pilot referred to?
Pilot alleged that PM Narendra Modi was made to plant a peepal sapling while being told it was a khejri — Rajasthan's state tree — and that a related post was subsequently deleted from the Prime Minister's social media. This claim is unverified.
