Ashok Gehlot

Ex-Ashok Gehlot OSD Lokesh Sharma turns approver in phone tapping case

Rajasthan former chief minister Ashok Gehlot's ex-OSD Lokesh Sharma has turned approver in a phone tapping case that happened during the political crisis in the state in 2020. In March 2021, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Sharma on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations on a complaint from Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and he was questioned multiple times in connection with the case. Sharma last week moved an application in the court of chief judicial magistrate, Patiala house courts complex in Delhi, which was accepted by the court on Monday. After the development, Sharma said he was worried for his and his family's safety and he has been frequently getting threats. His advocate Rohan Vadhwa said, "After a confessional statement recorded before the magistrate and no objection by the crime branch, Sharma was given a pardon and now he has turned approver." He said no names were given in the ...

Ashok Gehlot demands MoU regarding PKC-ERCP project be made public

This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to lay the foundation stone for the Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal-Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (PKC-ERCP) on December 17

Rahul to attend Netrutva Sangam Leadership Training Camp in Jaipur today

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and state LoP Tika Ram Jully welcomed him upon his arrival at Jaipur airport

Ajmer Dargah row: Ashok Gehlot accuses BJP of polarsation, unrest

Earlier, a local court in Ajmer directed that notice be issued to three parties in a civil suit that claims that there is a Shiva temple in the dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer

Police arrest Ashok Gehlot's former OSD Lokesh in phone tapping case

On March 25, 2021, the Delhi Police registered an FIR against Sharma on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and unlawful interception of telegraphic signals

Gehlot confident of INDIA bloc's win in Maharashtra, Jharkhand polls

In Maharashtra, the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, is engaged in a fierce contest with the MVA, which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP

BJP regime scrapping, weakening Cong govt's welfare schemes: Gehlot

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused the state's BJP disposition of scrapping or weakening public welfare schemes launched by his government. Alleging that the Centre failed to fulfil its promises, the veteran Congress leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should conduct a survey in the state to ascertain how much resentment there was due to the closure of these schemes. Addressing Modi in a post on X, he said the previous Congress government launched several welfare schemes on the basis of the party's manifesto and implemented those on time. "Thus, the Congress government in Rajasthan set an example before the whole country, which benefited the public." "The (current) BJP government in Rajasthan has closed or weakened all the schemes of the (previous) Congress government, which is causing a strong reaction among the public. You should conduct a study among the people of Rajasthan so that it can be known how much anger is there among the people due to

Maharashtra Assembly polls: Gehlot, Baghel among Congress' poll observers

Maharashtra elections: The Congress has named former Union Minister Mukul Wasnik and AICC General Secretary Avinash Pande as state election senior coordinators

Gehlot's ex-OSD blames him for phone tapping during 2020 political crisis

In a development that could land former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot in trouble, his ex-OSD Lokesh Sharma has held him responsible for phone tapping during the political crisis in the state in 2020. He said Gehlot should be interrogated in this regard. Delhi Police questioned Sharma on Wednesday in connection with the phone-tapping case lodged on a complaint by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. After the questioning, Sharma said he submitted a seven-page written statement, describing the sequence of events on July 16, 2020, when he got a pen drive containing call recordings from the then CM for circulating them to the media. He said Gehlot could tell how he got the call recordings and whether the call interceptions were done legally or not. Sharma's claim this time has marked a shift from his previous stand that he had got three audio clips from social media and forwarded those to media houses. Sharma was called for questioning at Delhi Police's Crime Branch offic

Six-time MLA Suryakanta Vyas dies at 87; former Raj CM Gehlot pays tribute

Suryakanta Vyas, a six-time BJP MLA from Sursagar and old Jodhpur seats, passed away on Wednesday morning. She was not feeling well for a long time and was admitted to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital

Crimes against tribals, Dalits increased under BJP govt in Raj, says Gehlot

Crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes increased rapidly after the BJP assumed power in Rajasthan, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Monday. He also demanded that Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma himself take cognisance and ensure the safety of Dalits and tribals. Sharing a news report of a crime in Jodhpur's Shergarh, Gehlot said in a post on X, "During our government in Rajasthan, prompt action was taken on crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the police always stood firmly with the victim. Crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes increased rapidly in the state since the change of government." "Crimes against Dalits and tribals have increased. The crime percentage, which was 32.7 per cent in January 2024, rose to 33.7 per cent in February, 34.1 per cent in March, 19.5 per cent in April, 62.5 per cent in May and 53.37 per cent in June," he said in Hindi. A 40-year-old man was allegedly thrashed by a group of people in Shergarh

NEET 'irregularities' must be probed, says Ex Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday demanded a probe into the alleged irregularities in the NEET medical entrance exam. Several aspirants of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) have alleged inflation of marks which led to a record 67 candidates bagging the top rank, including six from the same exam centre. The National Testing Agency (NTA), however, denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres are some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks. "Candidates have expressed apprehensions of irregularities regarding the NEET exam and its result wherein several candidates from the same centre got full marks, and candidates with close roll numbers topped, " he said on X. "Many such aspects are surfacing which increases the apprehensions of irregularities in the examination," he said. Gehlot said the matter concerns the future of lakhs of students and th

Congress looted Rajasthan; Gehlot, Dotasra would be jailed soon: Minister

Rajasthan minister Madan Dilawar on Wednesday accused the previous Congress government of making crores of rupees by leaking exam papers and asserted that former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state party chief Govind Singh Dotasra would soon go to jail for it. In a video statement, Dilawar, the state's education minister, said the Congress leaders were trained in corruption and ever since the BJP came to power in Rajasthan, they are worried about where to hide their ill-gotten wealth. "Congress leaders have indulged in loot. They sold (exam) papers and earned crores of rupees. Now they are worried about where to keep the money because the SOG and other investigating agencies are doing their work," Dilawar said. "Ashok Gehlot sahab and Govind Singh Dotasra sahab you are about to go to Tihar Jail soon where you will meet (Delhi CM Arvind) Kejriwal. Tell him that in Rajasthan you have committed so many bad deeds," he added. Dilawar said due to the Congress government's corruption in

LS polls: Congress to win seats in double digits in Rajasthan, says Gehlot

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has claimed that the Congress is going to win parliamentary seats in double digits in his state and exuded confidence that an INDIA bloc government would be formed at the Centre as "winds of change" were blowing in the country. In an interview with PTI here, Gehlot also hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark that the Congress will get fewer seats in the Lok Sabha polls than "the age of its shehzada", saying such "jumlebaazi" will not work as people have understood that the limit to the BJP's "lies" has been reached. "In the whole country, the message has gone that an INDIA bloc government is going to be formed. The first three phases (of the polls) have shown that this is the situation," the veteran Congress leader, who is here as the senior AICC observer for the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, said. Asked specifically about Rajasthan where polling was over in the first two phases of the polls for the 25 .

EC's reaction to Kharge's letter 'inappropriate, unwarranted', says Gehlot

The Election Commission's reaction to a letter by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to INDIA bloc partners expressing concern over delays in releasing voter turnout figures for the first two poll phases was "completely inappropriate and unwarranted", former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Saturday. The commission on Friday, in a response to Kharge's letter, called it an attempt to push a biased narrative under the guise of seeking clarifications. In a post in Hindi on X, Gehlot said, "The language of the letter of the Election Commission, which came on the legitimate questions raised by @kharge ji, seems more like that of a political party than a constitutional institution. Instead of working with its responsibility, the Election Commission is seen standing with one party in these elections and that is creating doubts in the minds of the common people." He added that such a reaction is not good for the Election Commission's image. "It is surprising that the Election .

Cong appoints Baghel, Gehlot as AICC observers for Rae Bareli, Amethi

The Congress on Monday appointed former chief ministers Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot as AICC senior observers for Rae Bareli and Amethi Parliamentary constituencies, respectively. Ending weeks of suspense, the Congress on Friday announced that Rahul Gandhi will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli, the constituency held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades, and Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, will fight from Amethi. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to spearhead the campaign in Rae Bareli and Amethi, and camp in these parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh from Monday to ensure the party's victory in the two high-profile seats. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal to appoint Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot as AICC senior observers for Rae Bareli and Amethi Parliamentary constituencies respectively, a statement issued by the party said. Priyanka Gandhi has already taken command of the ..

LS polls: The electoral litmus test for Rajasthan's CM Bhajan Lal Sharma

With opposition branding Sharma as 'Parchi CM', party stalwarts in the backseat. He has got lot to prove. With BJP sweeping last two elections, anything less than a perfect score would raise eyebrows

Promises made by BJP remained promises only: Gehlot on its LS manifesto

Ashok Gehlot also claimed that the BJP will be changing the Constitution once it comes to power and this has created a sense of tension and fear in the country

Congress indulged in corruption, did not carry out water works: Shekhawat

Union minister and BJP candidate Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has claimed that he got budget worth thousands of crores sanctioned by the Centre for water works in Rajasthan but the previous Congress government in the state failed to utilise it. While trashing Congress candidate Karan Singh Uchiyarda's reported remarks that he could not get water for the region despite being the Jal Shakti minister, the BJP leader said he was saddened by the endorsement of the same by BJP workers. "I allocated thousands of crores of budget to the Rajasthan government for water, but if the government didn't work, what can I do? Even the Central Government has its limitations; water is a state government matter, and it was their responsibility to work on it, but they didn't and indulged in corruption", he said. Addressing a rally in Ajasar village in Pokhran on Saturday, Shekhawat said his own people were throwing mud on his face. "Congress candidate is saying that despite being the Minister of Water, ...

Sachin Pilot comes out in support of Ashok Gehlot's son ahead of LS polls

Having buried the hatchet with former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Sachin Pilot says moving on was in the best interest of the party and stressed he would "100 per cent" campaign for his senior colleague's son Vaibhav who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Jalore. In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters here, the Congress general secretary said a redux of the 2004 election when the party won the polls despite the India Shining campaign of the NDA is very much on the cards. "Repeat of 2004 is very much possible given the circumstances, given the unrest among most people. What you don't see in the media is the real sentiment on the ground. This politics of jumlas and overconfidence (by the BJP) has its limits," Pilot said earlier this week. Asked how he has been able to shake off his past differences with Gehlot and the former Rajasthan CM's 'nikamma-nakara' jibe at him in 2020, Pilot said, "I saw no advantage in replying in t