Rajya Sabha MP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirodi Lal Meena accused the Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan of being the most corrupt in the state's history.
Meena alleged that the Congress government had been involved in scams worth thousands of crores of rupees, including a mining scam worth Rs 27,000 crore and a gravel scam of Rs 20,000 crore, amounting to over Rs 66,000 crore. According to a report by Hindustan Times, Meena further mentioned a Rs 25,000 crore of money laundering in the IT department. He claimed that these allegations had been reported to the Enforcement Directorate.
Meena also alleged corruption in the Kota Chambal Riverfront project, stating that Rs 1,000 crore allocated to the Joint Development Agreement (JDA) in Jaipur and Jodhpur had been spent in Kota.
He questioned the Chief Minister's claims of being a Gandhian and having zero tolerance for corruption.
"The chief minister calls himself a Gandhian, but how can he remain silent in the face of so many scams? How can he claim to have zero tolerance for corruption?" Meena questioned during a press conference in Jaipur.
Drawing a comparison with the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, Meena urged Gehlot to either take strict action against corruption or refrain from calling himself a Gandhian.
In response, Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi defended the Gehlot government, stating that maximum actions were taken against corrupt officers under its leadership. Chaturvedi emphasised that the Congress government did not tolerate any scams and accused Meena of merely making baseless allegations.
These allegations come ahead of the Rajasthan state assembly elections slated for the end of the year or early 2024.