NEW DELHI: Outgoing Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s officer on special duty (OSD) Lokesh Sharma on Tuesday alleged that Gehlot tracked the phone and monitored the movements of his former deputy Sachin Pilot in the run-up to and during the 2020 rebellion.
He claimed that the monitoring was happening from before the rebellion as there was some idea that such a thing could happen.
Sharma, who was denied a ticket to contest the Rajasthan assembly polls, has been criticising Gehlot for the party’s defeat in the state poll.
He also claimed that had Gehlot loyalists allowed the legislature party meeting to happen last year in September and let the Congress observers implement the agenda as per the planning — the outcome of the Rajasthan state election would have been different.
There was no immediate reaction from Congress leaders Gehlot and Pilot or their aides on the allegations.
Highlighting the differences between Gehlot and Pilot, Sharma said, “Congress leadership wanted to effect a leadership change and bring in Pilot as the chief minister”.
Admitting that animosity between Gehlot and Pilot “harmed” the party’s prospects, he alleged, “When the political crisis of 2020 had come and Pilot ji had left with his 18 MLAs, then in such a situation, the government does put its machinery in to use and everyone is monitored, where do these people go, who do they meet and who do they speak with. So that is done and in that manner their monitoring was also done”.
“I said monitoring was being done continuously which includes all these things — movement, who are they speaking with, those things were being tracked and monitored,” Sharma told news agency PTI when asked about the details of the monitoring.
Sharma asserted that Congress would have conveniently pulled off the election if there had been a proper ticket distribution.
“There was no anti-incumbency against the government but people did not want to see many of the MLAs return as their representatives. Such reports were communicated to the chief minister. These were not just my reports but the AICC survey, and other reports were that sitting MLAs’ tickets should be cut but it was not done,” Sharma claimed.
“You can say it was his (Gehlot’s) stubbornness. He probably felt it was his moral duty towards those who had helped him save his government,” he said when asked why action had not been taken on the reports.
“I am saying so now as I want corrective measures to be taken as Lok Sabha polls are around the corner, and it is important to set things right,” he added.
On Monday, replying to a question on an earlier statement of Sharma, Pilot had said, “I have seen the statement. It is strange. Because he was OSD to the chief minister, that’s why it is a matter of concern. I believe the party will look into why he said so. And how much truth it holds.”
He claimed that the monitoring was happening from before the rebellion as there was some idea that such a thing could happen.
Sharma, who was denied a ticket to contest the Rajasthan assembly polls, has been criticising Gehlot for the party’s defeat in the state poll.
He also claimed that had Gehlot loyalists allowed the legislature party meeting to happen last year in September and let the Congress observers implement the agenda as per the planning — the outcome of the Rajasthan state election would have been different.
There was no immediate reaction from Congress leaders Gehlot and Pilot or their aides on the allegations.
Highlighting the differences between Gehlot and Pilot, Sharma said, “Congress leadership wanted to effect a leadership change and bring in Pilot as the chief minister”.
Admitting that animosity between Gehlot and Pilot “harmed” the party’s prospects, he alleged, “When the political crisis of 2020 had come and Pilot ji had left with his 18 MLAs, then in such a situation, the government does put its machinery in to use and everyone is monitored, where do these people go, who do they meet and who do they speak with. So that is done and in that manner their monitoring was also done”.
“I said monitoring was being done continuously which includes all these things — movement, who are they speaking with, those things were being tracked and monitored,” Sharma told news agency PTI when asked about the details of the monitoring.
Sharma asserted that Congress would have conveniently pulled off the election if there had been a proper ticket distribution.
“There was no anti-incumbency against the government but people did not want to see many of the MLAs return as their representatives. Such reports were communicated to the chief minister. These were not just my reports but the AICC survey, and other reports were that sitting MLAs’ tickets should be cut but it was not done,” Sharma claimed.
“You can say it was his (Gehlot’s) stubbornness. He probably felt it was his moral duty towards those who had helped him save his government,” he said when asked why action had not been taken on the reports.
“I am saying so now as I want corrective measures to be taken as Lok Sabha polls are around the corner, and it is important to set things right,” he added.
On Monday, replying to a question on an earlier statement of Sharma, Pilot had said, “I have seen the statement. It is strange. Because he was OSD to the chief minister, that’s why it is a matter of concern. I believe the party will look into why he said so. And how much truth it holds.”
(With PTI input)