Rajasthan Assembly Elections: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the Rajasthan chief electoral officer, alleging that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot concealed information on two criminal cases against him in his election affidavit.
BJP alleges Gehlot has not mentioned two cases against him
Speaking to reporters after meeting with Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Praveen Gupta at the secretariat, Shekhawat alleged that Ashok Gehlot in his affidavit filed along with the nomination papers has not mentioned two such cases going on against him which are cognisable and connected with serious crimes.
“He has two cases against him, one is on land scam and one case is of robbery, rape and sexual offence, which he is completely aware of but he did not disclose this information in his affidavit. This is cognizable under the section 125A of the Representation of People Act. We have complained to the Election Commission to take cognizance and take appropriate action,” he said.
Notably, Chief Minister Gehlot submitted his nomination for the Sardarpura Assembly constituency in Rajasthan.
Case against CM Gehlot in Jodhpur
A similar complaint has been made to the Jodhpur district election officer as well. In Jodhpur, the District Election Officer, Himanshu Gupta, sought information from the returning officer regarding Gehlot's nomination due to objections raised on similar grounds.
The development came in response to a complaint filed by an individual named Pawan Pareek, who alleged that Gehlot submitted a false and misleading affidavit and called for the disqualification of his nomination.
Pareek also demanded a case against the chief minister in his complaint to the district election officer. "Gehlot had to furnish entire details about the pending criminal cases against him but it was incomplete and two criminal cases have been concealed," he claimed.
Gupta said the objection was registered and a detailed report was summoned from the returning officer concerned. "We will investigate the matter after receiving the report," he added.
Voting in Rajasthan will take place on November 25 and the counting of votes has been scheduled for December 3. The key contest in the state is going to be between BJP and Congress.
(With agencies input)
