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ED summons Gehlot’s son, raids state Congress chief’s premises weeks before poll
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has accused the BJP of misusing the ED and called “non-stop” raids the proof of the Congress winning the election
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s son for questioning even as the federal agency was on Thursday raiding state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasara’s premises and a coaching centre allegedly linked to him weeks before the Rajasthan assembly election.
The agency did not immediately provide details of the probe or the date when Vaibhav Gehlot, the chief minister’s son, will be questioned. But people aware of the matter said Vaibhav Gehlot has been summoned in connection with a probe under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) linked to a Mumbai-based firm of hotels and resorts.
The ED carried out raids in Jaipur, Udaipur, Mumbai and Delhi in August and September this year in connection with the probe. In a statement on September 1, ED said the FEMA probe was launched against Triton Hotels & Resorts Pvt Ltd, Vardha Enterprises Pvt Ltd and its directors and promoters Shiv Shankar Sharma and Rattan Kant Sharma, who is believed to be Vaibhav Gehlot’s business partner.
The ED said it launched the probe on the basis of “credible information” alleging Triton Hotels & Resorts Pvt Ltd received Foreign Direct Investment from Mauritius at a “huge premium” which was revised several times violating FEMA provisions. “...Triton Group has been involved in Hawala transactions having cross-border implications,” ED said in September.
The agency said it recovered unaccounted cash of ₹1.27 crore, incriminating documents including digital evidence, hard disks, mobiles, etc during raids this summer, revealing large-scale transactions done out of books of account.
It alleged unaccounted cash receipts were invested in the development of hotels.
Ashok Gehlot linked the summons to his son and raids on Dotasara’s premises to the Congress’s launch on Wednesday of guarantees for women ahead of the November 25 polls. “...the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] does not want that women, farmers and the poor in Rajasthan to benefit from the Congress’s guarantees,” he said in a post on the social media platform X.
On Monday, Ashok Gehlot accused the BJP government at the Centre of misusing the ED to harass the ruling Congress in Rajasthan. In a separate post on X, Gehlot called “non-stop” ED raids in Rajasthan the proof of the Congress winning the election. He added the federal agency was being misused against the Congress as the BJP was unable to win the trust of the people in Rajasthan.
The raids on the residences of Dotasara, who is contesting the November 25 election from Lacchmangarh, in Jaipur and Sikar began at 8.30am as part of a money laundering probe. People aware of the matter said the raids were being conducted in connection with the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers paper leak in 2021.
The ED was raiding the coaching centre in Sikar for the second time since August. Dotasara has denied any links with the centre.
There were no immediate comments from Dotasara or the ED on the raids. Opposition BJP lawmaker Ram Lal Sharma insisted the raids were being conducted on the basis of evidence. “They should be worried only if they are guilty. Everyone should cooperate in the probe.”
Opposition parties have been citing a pattern in raids and accusing the BJP-led Union government of repeatedly targeting their leaders through raids, summons and arrests ahead of elections. The federal agencies and the Union government have repeatedly denied these charges.
The Congress earlier this year called ED raids in Chhattisgarh a result of pre-poll surveys which predicted a “massive rout” for the BJP.
Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are going to the polls along with Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Mizoram between November 7 and 30. This will be the last major electoral exercise ahead of the 2024 elections.
The Congress wrested power from the BJP in the Hindi-speaking heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh months before the 2019 general elections. It is hoping to retain power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and form the government in Madhya Pradesh.
The Congress lost power to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh in March 2020 after the resignations of 22 legislators. It is particularly buoyed by its performance in Karnataka, where it this year returned to power on the back of an ideological campaign centred on welfare, social justice, and anti-corruption.
