Explosive Allegations: Ex-Aide Blames Ashok Gehlot for 2020 Phone Tapping Scandal to Topple Rajasthan Government
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot faces potential complications as his ex-OSD, Lokesh Sharma, has implicated him in a phone-tapping scandal during the 2020 political crisis in the state. Sharma has called for Gehlot to be interrogated by authorities. The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch questioned Sharma regarding this case, which was initiated by a complaint from Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Sharma’s seven-page statement recounted the events of July 16, 2020, when he received a pen drive containing call recordings. In a departure from his previous stance, Sharma asserted that Gehlot was capable of explaining the origin of these recordings and whether the phone interceptions were lawful.
In a previous public statement made in April, Sharma claimed that Gehlot had personally handed him an audio clip suggesting a plot to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan. According to Sharma, Gehlot provided him with a pen drive and instructed him to disseminate its contents to the media. Sharma complied by transferring the files to his laptop and phone before distributing them to various media outlets.
Sharma insists he wasn’t involved in the actual call interceptions, stating that they were conducted under Gehlot’s direction. He has called for Gehlot to be summoned for further questioning to clarify the legality and details of the interceptions. Sharma further alleged that the phones of multiple Congress MLAs, from both Gehlot’s and Sachin Pilot’s camps, were tapped, and he regularly received call transcriptions. He claimed that senior officials, including the chief secretary and the DGP, were aware of the phone-tapping activities.
The controversy initially erupted in July 2020, amid a political turmoil when Congress was in power in Rajasthan.
Original Story https://www.livemint.com/news/india/big-trouble-for-ashok-gehlot-ex-aide-blames-former-rajasthan-cm-for-phone-tapping-to-topple-govt-in-2020-11727593560010.html
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