Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday seized upon Lokesh Sharma’s allegations in opposition to former chief minister Ashok Gehlot over the paper leak instances in Rajasthan to assault the Congress and mentioned there may be no “greater betrayal” of the youth than this.
Sharma, the ex-OSD of Gehlot, on Wednesday alleged that the Gehlot authorities was concerned within the Rajasthan Instructor Eligibility Check (REET) paper leak case.
Addressing an election rally in Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi mentioned, “A gentleman who was near the then chief minister Ashok Gehlot made a surprising revelation yesterday.”
Referring to Sharma, Modi mentioned, “He revealed that the Gehlot authorities itself was concerned within the paper leak. There may be no greater sin than this, no greater betrayal than this of the youth of my nation.”
At a press convention in Jaipur, Sharma had additionally accused Gehlot of hatching a conspiracy to tarnish the picture of his then deputy Sachin Pilot and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, maintaining telephones of Pilot and different Congress leaders on surveillance and maintaining the get together excessive command at the hours of darkness.
Reacting to Sharma’s allegations, Gehlot mentioned on Thursday that he was not conscious of the costs levelled by his ex-OSD. “I’m not conscious of it…one mustn’t fear about who says what within the current surroundings of the nation,” he instructed reporters in Jodhpur.
On Modi’s comment, he mentioned that the PM had made a problem of ’purple diary’ through the meeting elections final yr and now, in the identical method, the problem (his alleged involvement in paper leak) has been made. “The PM is now quoting him (Lokesh Sharma). I don’t need to make any remark in regards to the PM, he ought to suppose that he’s the Prime Minister of the nation and never of BJP alone,” Gehlot mentioned.
Former Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha had in July final yr claimed to be within the possession of a ’purple diary’ allegedly having particulars of irregular monetary transactions of Gehlot.
The BJP had made it a problem through the meeting elections. In the meantime, reacting to the revelation made by Sharma, Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma mentioned that individuals would give a reply to the Congress.
“I don’t need to say extra on what the ex-OSD of Gehlot mentioned yesterday…that’s in entrance of all. However I need to say that individuals want to give solutions to corruption by the Congress and betrayal with the youth,” Sharma instructed reporters on the BJP workplace in Jaipur. BJP’s Lok Sabha election in-charge for Rajasthan Vinay Sahastrabuddhe mentioned that the sins dedicated by the Congress are actually coming in entrance of the individuals.
“Now individuals obtained to know that they’d given energy to these having such a legal mindset,” he instructed reporters. Former chief of opposition Rajendra Rathore additionally hit out at Gehlot saying that the allegations made by Sharma have uncovered the face of the “pseudo Gandhi” of Marwar.
“This was the primary incident within the historical past of Rajasthan politics when the pinnacle of a authorities, with a view to save his chair, ignored all the principles and obtained the telephones of public representatives illegally tapped,” he mentioned.
Rathore mentioned that Gehlot, who talks in regards to the Structure, himself misused his energy to assault the rights of the opposition. Nonetheless, former minister Pratap Singh Khachariawas defended Gehlot and mentioned that Sharma was enjoying within the arms of the BJP and his allegation has no substance.
“Ashok Gehlot doesn’t want a certificates from an individual like Lokesh Sharma who’s enjoying within the arms of the BJP. If BJP desires to achieve mileage within the elections with the assistance of such individuals, it makes it clear that it’s dropping elections,” he mentioned.
“He (Sharma) ought to have gone to the police or different investigating companies as an alternative of speaking to the media on this situation,” Khachariawas mentioned.
The phone-tapping controversy erupted through the political disaster in Rajasthan in July 2020 when Gehlot was the CM. Audio clips of alleged telephonic conversations between Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Congress leaders surfaced amidst a insurrection in opposition to Gehlot by Pilot and 18 get together MLAs supporting him.
It was alleged that Sharma circulated audio clips purportedly having dialog in regards to the conspiracy to topple the Congress authorities. On Wednesday, Sharma alleged that the clips have been offered to him by Gehlot himself in a pen drive for circulating them to the media.
The Delhi Police had registered an FIR in opposition to Sharma in March 2021 on costs of legal conspiracy, legal breach of belief and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations on a criticism by Shekhawat.
Sharma approached the Delhi Excessive Courtroom to quash the FIR. In June 2021, the excessive court docket granted an interim keep on coercive motion in opposition to him.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – PTI)
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