In a startling revelation, Lokesh Sharma, a former aide to ex-Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has once again stirred controversy by alleging Mr. Gehlot’s involvement in phone tapping during the previous government and the leakage of REET exam papers.
Timed just a day before the second phase of Lok Sabha elections, Lokesh Sharma claimed that Ashok Gehlot had provided him with a pen drive containing audio clips, purportedly intercepted phone conversations, which were later leaked to the media. Sharma admitted he was unsure about the legality of these recordings.
The allegations resurface from July 2020, during the tumultuous period when the Ashok Gehlot government faced rebellion from Sachin Pilot and 19 MLAs. At that time, certain audio conversations allegedly featuring rebel MLAs like Vishwendra Singh and Bhanwar Lal Sharma were leaked to the media, causing a sensation.
One such conversation supposedly involved Bhanwar Lal, a rebel MLA, and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, suggesting BJP’s involvement in toppling the Gehlot government.
Shekhawat filed a police case against Lokesh Sharma for leaking the conversation and a defamation case against Gehlot regarding the matter.
The phone tapping allegations are under investigation by the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, which previously summoned Lokesh Sharma for questioning. Currently out on bail from the Delhi High Court, Sharma faces non-coercive action as per the court’s orders.
Adding fuel to the fire, Lokesh Sharma also accused Ashok Gehlot of shielding his close aides in the REET paper leak scandal of 2022. The leakage of the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) paper became a political issue during last year’s assembly elections, with the Opposition BJP raising concerns.
While Lokesh Sharma has been vocal on social media against his former boss, this marks the first time he has publicly addressed the phone tapping allegations, strategically timed just before Rajasthan’s voting, notably in Gehlot’s constituency, Jodhpur.
Ashok Gehlot, currently in Jodhpur for campaigning, has yet to respond to these allegations.