Shekhawat taunts Gehlot on charge of sedition

NEW DELHI: “What happened to the sedition case against me, Mr Gehlot?” asked an angry Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union water resources minister and Jodhpur MP , questioning the sudden dropping of all such charges against him and rebel Congress MLAs . The minister said CM Ashok Gehot must explain the “U-turn” as to how in a matter of weeks, sedition charges were invoked and dropped against a central minister and a host of MLAs.

Fuming over “baseless” accusations of being party to a bid to topple the state government, Shekhawat said that the entire political crisis in Rajasthan was a drama scripted by the chief minister. “Case of sedition under Section 124A of IPC was slapped against an elected representative, who is holding a responsible position at the Centre. And the case is withdrawn after 15 days saying that section was not applicable. This is like you arrest a person and keep him in custody for one month and after that you withdraw the charge. This is the best example of mocking judiciary by sheer misuse of state machinery.”

Shekhawat said there should be a thorough investigation about the origin of the tape on the basis of which the special operations group registered a sedition case against elected representatives. “The tape was circulated on social media. Media says it was given to them by the OSD of the chief minister, then cases were registered and later withdrawn. The whole incident smacks of a huge conspiracy. Who were the actual script writers of this drama must come out,” he said.

The SOG of Rajasthan Police had served notice to Shekhawat for his alleged bid to destabilise the Gehlot-led government and directed him to record his statement. The recording itself refers to a “Gajendra Singh” without any clarity that it is Shekhawat. “The day (Sachin) Pilot left Jaipur, Congress members said it was their internal matter and they will sort it out. Then the allegations like ‘nakkara’, ‘nikamma’, followed by the return of MLAs. This whole drama was planned and executed to defame the Centre and BJP,” Shekhawat said.

“The CM has the skill and magic of hurting his political rivals even from his own party. His aim was to oust his challengers in the party, defame BJP and take revenge for his son’s defeat. Only time will tell to what extent he has succeeded,” he said.