Snooping claims rock Rajasthan Assembly, Congress asks CM to respond to his own cabinet minister
On its part, the Rajasthan government has rejected the allegations as “baseless”.
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, who reached the Assembly at 4 pm, refuted the allegations made by Kirodi Lal Meena. (Express File Photo) Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Kirodi Lal Meena’s snooping and phone tapping allegations against his own government have stirred up a storm in the state, with Opposition Congress demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and staging a walkout during the ongoing Winter Session of the Assembly Friday.
The furore prompted the proceedings in the House to be adjourned thrice. This comes hours after an undated video of Meena making the allegations from Amagarh temple in Jaipur went viral.
Meena purportedly made the accusation while speaking about alleged corruption in the state. The allegation has given additional ammunition to Opposition leaders such as Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara and former CM Ashok Gehlot, who are now demanding Sharma’s resignation.
“Leaders of BJP are accusing their own party of phone tapping. Kirodi is directly accusing the chief minister of Rajasthan. Until the chief minister answers in the house, we won’t let the proceedings begin,” Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully told the House.
On its part, the Rajasthan government has rejected the allegations as “baseless”.
At 11 am, when question hour began in the Rajasthan Assembly, Congress MLAs gathered in the well to demand the CM’s resignation. Speaker Vasudev Devanani’s repeated requests to the legislators to return to their seats went unheeded, prompting an adjournment at 12.30 pm.
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, who reached the Assembly at 4 pm, refuted the allegations. He also made a special mention of Dotasara, who is not attending the session.
“I called the opposition leader and asked him to tell me what public works are being done in his area. I gave a budget to get work done in the areas of opposition leaders. We can see Dotasra is not present in the assembly today. When I mention Dotasara’s name here, he just leaves and leaves Tikaram Jully in-charge. Dotasara is very clever. Dotasara should not forget the Birla Auditorium incident during Congress rule. When it comes to teacher transfers, the Birla Auditorium incident should also be remembered,” the CM said, referring to 2021 corruption allegations in the state’s teacher transfer system. At that time, Gehlot was chief minister and Dotasara held the education portfolio.
In his video, Meena appeared to be flagging corruption issues, including those pertaining to the 2021 sub-inspector exam paper leak.
“When I called for the examination to be cancelled, the government didn’t listen to me. On the contrary, the government, similar to how it was under the previous rule, deputed CID (personnel) for me at every nook and corner and has also been recording my telephone. But I didn’t do anything wrong. That’s why I’m not afraid. That’s why I don’t bend. That’s why I don’t break. And I never shy away from telling the truth,” he said in the video.
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