Rajasthan CM Gehlot demands voice sample of Union Min Shekhawat in phone-tapping probe

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday demanded that Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat should give his voice sample in an investigation for allegedly toppling his government in July last year. This development comes after Gehlot's Officer on Special Duty (OSD) appeared before Delhi Police's crime branch in a phone tapping case filed by Shekhawat.

The audio clips of alleged telephonic conversations between the Union Minister and some Congress leaders had gone viral in July last year amidst rebellion by then deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 party MLA against CM Gehlot.

Gehlot has been blaming Bharatiya Janata Party for the political crisis and said, "Rajasthan made history by failing their efforts to topple the state government which will be helpful in saving the democracy in future."

He has claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah and other Union ministers were also involved in the conspiracy to plunge Congress government. Gehlot, without naming, said that the voice of one union minister from the state was there in the audiotape.

"He (referring to Shekhawat) lodged a case on Lokesh Sharma in Delhi. Look at their thinking. How (he) has become a Union minister," the chief minister said adding, "he should give voice sample, but he tries to find a way to escape."

On Amit Shah's recent visit to Rajasthan, Gehlot accused the Home Minister of misleading the people. He said that allegations levelled by Shah on the Congress government were baseless.

Addressing a gathering in Jaipur on Sunday, the Union Home Minister said, "I have come to appeal to the people of Rajasthan that the useless and corrupt Ashok Gehlot government here has to be uprooted and thrown away." He also claimed that Lotus will bloom in the state in 2023.

Ashok Gehlot's OSD questioned by Delhi Police

Rajasthan CM's Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Lokesh Sharma appeared before the Crime Branch on Delhi Police on Monday in connection to an alleged phone tapping case lodged by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. He was questioned for around three hours. This was his first appearance before the police. He was summoned earlier on three occasions which he skipped due to various reasons.

(With PTI inputs)