Shekhawat Accuses Gehlot of Phone Tapping to Undermine Rivals
New Delhi: The political landscape of Rajasthan is once again shaken, this time by a phone tapping scandal that has embroiled former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in a heated battle of accusations. The controversy erupted after an audio clip of a conversation allegedly between Gehlot and his ex-Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Lokesh Sharma, surfaced online, leading to a barrage of attacks from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who was at the centre of the 2020 political crisis in Rajasthan, has accused Gehlot of using illegal phone tapping to save his government. Shekhawat alleges that the audio clip, now in the public domain, reveals Gehlot’s involvement in tapping phones to gather intelligence and potentially undermine political rivals.
The saga unfolds with a tangled web of accusations and counter-accusations dating back to 2020 when Sharma claimed to have received a pen drive containing alleged phone conversations between Shekhawat and Congress leaders, supposedly discussing the toppling of the Gehlot government. Sharma, who is an accused in a case related to the illegal phone tapping registered by Shekhawat, further claimed that the pen drive was given to him by Gehlot himself.
Reacting to this, Shekhawat was quoted by news agency PTI saying, “The former chief minister had resorted to phone tapping in order to save his government. He recorded the phone conversation and saved it in a pen drive to make it public.”
The BJP has seized on this latest development, with state Education Minister Madan Dilawar adding fuel to the fire. Dilawar, accusing Gehlot of a pattern of political manipulation and phone tapping, links this incident to the previously alleged tapping of former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot’s phone. “Now it has become clear to everyone how Ashok Gehlot used to conspire. The revelations about phone tapping are gradually coming to light. As a result, Gehlot is scared of the ruling party. This is why he is not attending the assembly,” said Dilawar.
“Phone tapping is a crime. But when Ashok Gehlot was the chief minister, he tapped the phone of former deputy CM Sachin Pilot,” the state minister added. The audio clips were allegedly related to the political crisis that erupted after Pilot along with 18 other MLAs had revolted against Gehlot’s leadership.
The case, which is currently under investigation, has escalated tensions between the Congress and the BJP in Rajasthan. “Now his (Gehlot’s) own people are exposing it. The people of Rajasthan now understand to what extent Gehlot has betrayed them,” he said.
In 2020, three call recordings were circulated by Sharma to the media. It was alleged that clips contained telephonic conversations between Shekhawat and Congress leaders to topple the Gehlot government. Sharma at that time had claimed that he got the clips through social media.
Shekhawat had registered a case in Delhi against Sharma in March 2021 on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations.
Sharma approached the Delhi High Court to quash the FIR. In June 2021, the high court granted an interim stay on coercive action against Sharma. Sharma said in April that he would give the evidence (to prove that call recordings were given to him by Gehlot) to the investigating agency.
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Shekhawat Accuses Gehlot of Phone Tapping to Undermine Rivals
New Delhi: The political landscape of Rajasthan is once again shaken, this time by a phone tapping scandal that has embroiled former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in a heated battle of accusations. The controversy erupted after an audio clip of a conversation allegedly between Gehlot and his ex-Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Lokesh Sharma, surfaced online, leading to a barrage of attacks from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who was at the centre of the 2020 political crisis in Rajasthan, has accused Gehlot of using illegal phone tapping to save his government. Shekhawat alleges that the audio clip, now in the public domain, reveals Gehlot’s involvement in tapping phones to gather intelligence and potentially undermine political rivals.
The saga unfolds with a tangled web of accusations and counter-accusations dating back to 2020 when Sharma claimed to have received a pen drive containing alleged phone conversations between Shekhawat and Congress leaders, supposedly discussing the toppling of the Gehlot government. Sharma, who is an accused in a case related to the illegal phone tapping registered by Shekhawat, further claimed that the pen drive was given to him by Gehlot himself.
Reacting to this, Shekhawat was quoted by news agency PTI saying, “The former chief minister had resorted to phone tapping in order to save his government. He recorded the phone conversation and saved it in a pen drive to make it public.”
The BJP has seized on this latest development, with state Education Minister Madan Dilawar adding fuel to the fire. Dilawar, accusing Gehlot of a pattern of political manipulation and phone tapping, links this incident to the previously alleged tapping of former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot’s phone. “Now it has become clear to everyone how Ashok Gehlot used to conspire. The revelations about phone tapping are gradually coming to light. As a result, Gehlot is scared of the ruling party. This is why he is not attending the assembly,” said Dilawar.
“Phone tapping is a crime. But when Ashok Gehlot was the chief minister, he tapped the phone of former deputy CM Sachin Pilot,” the state minister added. The audio clips were allegedly related to the political crisis that erupted after Pilot along with 18 other MLAs had revolted against Gehlot’s leadership.
The case, which is currently under investigation, has escalated tensions between the Congress and the BJP in Rajasthan. “Now his (Gehlot’s) own people are exposing it. The people of Rajasthan now understand to what extent Gehlot has betrayed them,” he said.
In 2020, three call recordings were circulated by Sharma to the media. It was alleged that clips contained telephonic conversations between Shekhawat and Congress leaders to topple the Gehlot government. Sharma at that time had claimed that he got the clips through social media.
Shekhawat had registered a case in Delhi against Sharma in March 2021 on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations.
Sharma approached the Delhi High Court to quash the FIR. In June 2021, the high court granted an interim stay on coercive action against Sharma. Sharma said in April that he would give the evidence (to prove that call recordings were given to him by Gehlot) to the investigating agency.
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Summary:
In Rajasthan, a political scandal has erupted involving former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is accused of illegal phone tapping to undermine political rivals. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat claims that an audio clip now in the public domain reveals Gehlot’s involvement in gathering intelligence through phone tapping. This controversy dates back to 2020, when Lokesh Sharma, Gehlot’s ex-Officer on Special Duty, allegedly received a pen drive with recorded conversations aimed at toppling Gehlot’s government. The BJP has seized on the allegations, linking them to previous instances of phone tapping involving former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot. The case, currently under investigation, has escalated political tensions in the state. In response, Shekhawat has filed charges against Sharma for criminal conspiracy and unlawful interception, while Sharma has sought to quash the FIR in the Delhi High Court.