JAIPUR: In a significant turn of events, the Bhajanlal-led BJP government in Rajasthan has decided to withdraw a case filed in the Supreme Court against the Central government on the 2020 phone tapping allegations. The move is being seen as a major setback to former CM Ashok Gehlot, whose administration initially filed the case to stop the Delhi Police’s investigation into the matter.
The controversy goes back to March 2021, when Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat lodged a complaint with the Delhi Crime Branch, alleging illegal phone-tapping by the Gehlot government. This prompted the Gehlot administration to approach the Supreme Court arguing that only the Rajasthan Police had the jurisdiction over the investigation and sought a stay on Delhi Police’s actions.
However, in a recent submission to the Supreme Court, the Bhajanlal-led BJP government has contended that the case lacked merit and could not proceed further. This marks a reversal of the state’s earlier stance under Gehlot’s leadership. The issue has been a part of a broader political crisis in Rajasthan stemming from an audio clip released by Lokesh Sharma, Gehlot’s OSD in 2020 which implicated political figures who were allegedly conspiring to topple the Gehlot government.
The clip featured conversations involving Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, a Congress MLA, and a rather notorious broker in Rajasthan. After the Congress government fell in December last year, former OSD Lokesh Sharma accused Gehlot of leaking the audio recordings and pressured him to destroy evidence.
Contends case’s merit
In a recent submission to the Supreme Court, the Bhajanlal government contended that the case lacked merit and could not proceed further. This marks a reversal of the state’s earlier stance under Gehlot. The issue has been a part of a broader political crisis stemming from an audio released by Gehlot’s OSD in 2020