JAIPUR: Barely a month ahead of the Assembly polls, the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted raids on two Congress leaders — state party chief Govind Singh Dotasra and party nominee and current MLA Om Prakash Hudla — as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged exam paper leak case.
The Central agency has also summoned Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son in a foreign exchange violation case. Dotasra’s premises in Jaipur and Sikar were raided, sources said, adding properties belonging to Hudla, and some others were also being searched.
The CM’s son, Vaibhav Gehlot, is the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and a senior Congress member. He has been called to the ED headquarters for questioning in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case for which summons were issued. Vaibhav has been informed about the requirement to produce documents under the law.
The Congress launched a scathing attack on the BJP at a presser in Jaipur, with the CM sarcastically remarking that “BJP should consider making ED its election symbol.” “When BJP’s plans A, B and C fail, it puts into place Plan E (ED). It does not want our government to deliver relief to the people,” said the CM, questioning the integrity of the investigating agencies. He said ED’s actions symbolised a dark day for democracy, highlighting that Vaibhav was served the notice on Wednesday and asked to appear on Thursday. He also compared the ED action with the locust attack, saying “It’s a joke.”
“No matter how much they misuse ED and the Income Tax Department, they won’t be able to deter us. Just like locusts arrive from Pakistan to destroy crops, in states where the BJP defeat is certain, they send agencies to disrupt the winning party’s plans. ED’s actions resemble a locust attack.”
The CM said the Congress made two promises to the women of Rajasthan yesterday. “Today they sent ED; tomorrow, we will announce five more assurances, the ED should decide where to conduct raids. No notice was given to Dotasra. Why was his place raided? He hails from a farming background and has consistently advocated the rights of farmers and the underprivileged,” Gehlot said.
