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In Rajasthan tangle, Congress names central minister, 2 FIRs filed
The FIRs were registered on the basis of the complaint filed by Mahesh Joshi, the Congress chief whip of the Rajasthan assembly, after audiotapes surfaced on Thursday evening and went viral on social media amid the uncertain fate of the Gehlot government.
The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police has registered two first information reports (FIRs) against two incriminating audiotapes in which a Congress lawmaker is purportedly talking to a middleman and a person named Gajendra Singh about toppling the Ashok Gehlot-led government, which is on thin ice following the rebellion by sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and a bunch of Congress lawmakers.
The FIRs were registered on the basis of the complaint filed by Mahesh Joshi, the Congress chief whip of the Rajasthan assembly, after audiotapes surfaced on Thursday evening and went viral on social media amid the uncertain fate of the Gehlot government.
The FIRs were filed under Section 124A (sedition) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), said Ashok Rathore, additional director general (ADG), Anti-Terror Squad (ATS)-SOG, Rajasthan Police.
“Joshi has named three accused, who are identified as Gajendra Singh, Bhanwarlal Sharma, and Sanjay Jain in the first complaint. However, he has not named anybody in the second complaint,” Rathore said.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the two audiotapes.
One of the audiotapes allegedly reveals the exchange of conversation between Pilot’s supporter, lawmaker Sharma, who is acting as a mediator on the sacked deputy CM’s behalf, and Shekhawat.
While the other audiotape features Vishvendra Singh, who is also a Pilot supporter and a member of the Rajasthan legislative assembly (MLA), purportedly speaking to another agent in his bid to topple the Gehlot government.
It could be heard that one person is talking about more legislators are needed to dislodge the Gehlot government and another person exuding confidence that the current dispensation would not last long.
Another conversation estimates that the Gehlot government’s longevity is not more than 10-15 days.
Satish Poonia, the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, alleged that the ruling Congress, which is rattled by the infighting in its own ranks, is trying to defame his party.
“The audiotapes are fake and the Congress is indulging in politics of blackmailing. The Gehlot government has lost its majority and is creating confusion among the public,” Poonia alleged.
The SOG is also investigating another case related to sedition against two persons, who have been arrested, on the basis of intercepts of two mobile phones that pertain to an alleged bid to oust the Gehlot government.
