Rajasthan phone tapping row: Union Minister files FIR, Congress dares him to give voice sample
JAIPUR: The phone tapping row in Rajasthan intensified on Friday after Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat filed a complaint at Delhi’s Tughlak Road Police station.
Given the gravity of the issue, the Delhi Police transferred the complaint to the Crime Branch, according to sources.
State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra slammed the Union minister for the move and asked him to give his voice sample so that truth in the phone tapping case can be established.
In July 2020, a controversy erupted when leaked phone conversations allegedly between Shekhawat and some Congress leaders close to Sachin Pilot emerged.
Three audio clips were released during the revolt by the Sachin Pilot camp which allegedly contained voices of Shekhawat, an agent Sanjay Jain, and Pilot camp MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh.
Last week, the phone tapping row echoed in the Rajasthan Assembly after the BJP insisted that a recent response of the Gehlot government on a query had confirmed that phones were indeed "intercepted". Ultimately, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal who responded on behalf of the Rajasthan government had categorically denied telephone tapping of any public representatives in Rajasthan.
However, Union Minister Shekhawat filing a complaint with Delhi Police drew criticism from the Congress.
Dotasra has now challenged Shekhawat to provide his voice sample instead of doing theatrics in Delhi. Dotasra remarked: "They failed to bring down the Gehlot government despite trying to buy MLAs. Shekhawat is implicated in the phone tapping case and he should give his voice sample so that truth will come out.
“The minister should have resigned on moral grounds many months ago as his name was involved in the case. He is trying to create a false atmosphere to defame us but their plot to topple our government has already been exposed.”