The Congress demanded the resignation of Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat over the political crisis in Rajasthan on Sunday, reiterating its allegation that he is involved in a plot to topple the state government.
Shekhawat, a BJP parliamentarian from Jodhpur, has no moral authority to continue in office and he should resign to ensure that the probe is not influenced, Congress leader Ajay Maken said.
Rajasthan’s ruling Congress says Shekhawat’s voice can be heard in audio tapes purportedly recording conversations detailing a plot to topple the state government. Shekhawat denies the charge and says he is ready for a probe.
At a press conference, Maken, who is visiting Jaipur as a Congress observer, said Rajasthan Police’s Anti-Corruption Bureau has registered a case over the audio tapes and named Gajendra Singh, rebel Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma and alleged middleman Sanjay Jain, who has been arrested. Separately, the police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) has filed three first information reports, or FIRs, in connection with the case.
“If Union minister Gajendra Singh claims that it is not his voice [in the clips], and the reference in the audio clip is to some other Gajendra Singh, then why is he afraid of giving voice sample?” Maken asked.
{{/usCountry}}“If Union minister Gajendra Singh claims that it is not his voice [in the clips], and the reference in the audio clip is to some other Gajendra Singh, then why is he afraid of giving voice sample?” Maken asked.
{{/usCountry}}One of the FIRs filed by the SOG does not identify “Gajendra Singh” as Union minister Shekhawat.
Maken also alleged that the police in Haryana and Delhi were giving protection to rebel Congress MLAs from Rajasthan.
CM Ashok Gehlot is locked in a power tussle with former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who has the backing of 18 Congress legislators and three independents. These MLAs are believed to be camping in Gurugram.
Maken also asked why a team of the Rajasthan Police was “stopped by the Haryana Police” on Friday while trying to take voice samples of Congress MLAs Sharma and Vishvendra Singh at a Gurugram hotel.
Maken, who has come to Jaipur as a Congress observer, said it is the betrayal of people’s mandate and the murder of democracy if an elected government is toppled with money power.
“If the BJP has no role in it, then why the MLAs took shelter in the party-ruled Haryana?” he asked.
While the BJP has sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into what it called a “saga of illegalities and concocted lies”, the Congress says the demand amounted to “admission of guilt”.
Hitting back, BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek said the Congress has no right to ask for Shekhawat’s resignation.
He said the state government “violated the Constitution” and illegally tapped phones, adding that there is no question of giving a voice sample when the audio tapes are illegal.
“The government should prove its mandate and stop misguiding people,” he said.