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'ED's red rose': Ashok Gehlot says son Vaibhav Gehlot summoned by agency
ED also conducted raids on the residence of Congress' state unit president Govind Singh Dotasara and Independent MLA Om Prakash Hudla.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday issued summon to Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot in foreign exchange violation (FEMA) probe.
"Date 25/10/23 Congress launches guarantees for women of Rajasthan. Date 26/10/23 ED raid on Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Ji Dotasara, Summons to my son Vaibhav Gehlot to appear in ED. Now you can understand what I have been saying that ED's Red Rose is happening inside Rajasthan because BJP does not want that women, farmers and poor in Rajasthan should get the benefit of the guarantees given by Congress", Gehlot said on X.
Vaibhav has been asked to appear before the probe agency's office either in Jaipur or in New Delhi on Friday, news agency PTI reported.
The summons are linked to the recent ED raids against Rajasthan based hospitality group Triton Hotels & Resorts Pvt. Ltd., Vardha Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. and its directors and promoters Shiv Shankar Sharma, Rattan Kant Sharma and others, the report added.
Meanwhile, ED conducted raids on the residence of Congress' state unit president Govind Singh Dotasara and Independent MLA Om Prakash Hudla in connection with the alleged paper leak case in Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teacher 2021, being conducted for recruitment of government school teachers.
The ED officials reached Dotasara’s residence in Jaipur and Sikar. He was there at his Sikar residence when the ED action started at 8:30 am. According to the report by Live Hindustan, the searches are being held in six other locations including a coaching centre in Sikar alleging that Dotasara has some links with the coaching centre, which he denied.
Dotasra is the Congress' candidate from Lacchmangarh seat of Sikar against BJP's Subhash Maharia. He is also the sitting MLA from this seat, while Hudla is an independent MLA from the Mahwa constituency and has been given a Congress ticket for next month's election.
Commenting on the raids, BJP MLA Ram Lal Sharma said, “The raids are conducted on the basis of evidence. They should be worried if they are guilty, if not then there is no need. Everyone should cooperate in the probe.”
Last week, the probe agency had seized ₹12 lakh in cash along with "incriminating" documents after conducting raids undertaken at seven residential premises of Congress leader Dinesh Khodania, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leader Spurdha Chaudhary, Ashok Kumar Jain, Suresh Dhaka and others over the alleged leak of senior teacher second grade competitive examination 2022 paper, the agency said in a statement.
Khodaniya had alleged the agency's action was politically motivated.
The raid comes days after chief minister Ashok Gehlot claimed that BJP is misusing ED to harass the Congress. “The non-stop ED raids in Rajasthan is proof that Congress is winning the election. Unable to win the trust of the people of Rajasthan, the BJP is misusing ED to harass the Congress,” Gehlot said on X (formerly Twitter).
Action against the ruling Congress comes ahead of the states legislative assembly elections with polling scheduled on November 25, while counting of votes will take place on December 3.
