New Delhi: Central probe agencies were spreading fear in the country, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Thursday, hours after his son was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case related to alleged contravention of the foreign exchange law.
The Congress chief minister in poll-bound Rajasthan hit out at the BJP-led Centre, and questioned the credibility of its investigative agencies. “The situation today is worrying. The question is not about someone, the question is not about my son. They have spread fear in the country,” Gehlot said.
He had heard, Gehlot added, of ED officers shifting base to Chhattisgarh – another Congress-ruled state going to polls next month – and living on rent because “they have to conduct raids every day”.
The Rajasthan chief minister was buttressing an oft-repeated charge by the Opposition that the BJP was increasingly using central agencies to target its leaders.
#WATCH | Jaipur | On ED raids on properties of Govind Singh Dotasra and ED summon to Vaibhav Gehlot, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot says, "…The situation today is worrying. The question is not about someone, the question is not about my son. They have spread terror across the… pic.twitter.com/AEDDdRINGo
— ANI (@ANI) October 26, 2023
The ED’s summons to Gehlot’s son Vaibhav are linked to the recent raids against Rajasthan-based hospitality group Triton Hotels & Resorts Pvt. Ltd., Vardha Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. and its directors and promoters Shiv Shankar Sharma, Rattan Kant Sharma and others, PTI reported.
The agency raided the group and its promoters for three days in August in Jaipur, Udaipur, Mumbai and Delhi. Unaccounted cash of Rs 1.2 crore was seized after these searches.
Rattan Kant Sharma’s alleged links with Vaibhav Gehlot are allegedly under the scanner.
Vaibhav Gehlot has been asked to depose before the federal agency’s office either in Jaipur or in New Delhi on Friday.
On Thursday, the ED also raided properties of Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra in a money-laundering investigation into the alleged exam paper leak in the state.
Dotasra is a former minister for school education and a party candidate from Lacchmangarh against BJP’s Subhash Maharia.
Elections to the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be held on November 25.
Gehlot added that the “misuse of probe agencies was not justified”, saying the BJP was targeting him because they could not topple his government in Rajasthan.
“Yesterday, we made two announcements – the ‘Gruha Lakshmi Yojana’ for women and gas cylinders for Rs 500. However, they don’t want us to give relief to women, Dalits and tribals. We made the announcements yesterday and (ED) searches have started today,” the Congress leader said.