Former Rajasthan minister Rajendra Singh Gudha made sensational claims on Monday (24 July), asserting that he possessed photos from a "red diary" containing potential evidence of corruption against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Gudha, a Congress legislator, alleged that the diary held information about transactions made to independent MLAs and certain BJP MLAs during the political crisis triggered by former deputy CM Sachin Pilot's rebellion and the subsequent Rajya Sabha elections in 2020.
He said that the amount given to MLAs is not in lakhs, but ranges from Rs 2 to 5 crores. Acoording to Gudha, the diary was maintained by RTDC chairman Dharmendra Rathore.
During a session in the Rajasthan assembly, Gudha caused unruly scenes, waving the red diary and claiming it contained details of irregular financial transactions. As a result, the assembly had to be adjourned.
According to Gudha, the diary also contained information on transactions related to the Rajasthan Cricket Association elections in October 2019, during which CM Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot was a candidate for the president's post.
Gudha stated that he obtained the diary from Gehlot's confidant, Rathore's residence during an ED search in July 2020. He alleged that the diary exposed accounts involved in the distribution of black money orchestrated by Gehlot, with comprehensive information on recipients and transaction dates.
Gudha claimed that, on Gehlot's instructions, he, along with another minister and a Congress leader, visited Rathore's residence during the ED search and retrieved the red diary.
While the CM instructed him to destroy it, Gudha secretly photographed its contents, retaining crucial details of the transactions.
Congress leaders dismissed Gudha's allegations as baseless and challenged him to make the photos of the diary pages public if they indeed exist.
Meanwhile, the BJP demanded transparency and called for the contents of the diary to be made known to the nation. The Deputy Leader of Opposition, Satish Poonia, accused the Congress of multi-layered corruption and argued that Gudha should have been allowed to speak in the assembly as an elected representative.
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