Lokesh Sharma, a former aide to former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has once again made allegations against him, this time over phone tapping and the REET exam paper leak. Sharma claims that Gehlot handed him a pen drive containing audio clips that were later leaked to the media. He also alleges that he was told these were intercepted phone conversations, but he was unsure of their legality.
In July 2020, during the rebellion of Sachin Pilot and 19 other MLAs against the Gehlot government, audio conversations of rebel MLAs like Vishwendra Singh and Bhanwar Lal Sharma were leaked to the media and went viral. One of these conversations allegedly involved Bhanwar Lal and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, indicating the BJP’s involvement in the attempt to topple the Gehlot government. Shekhawat filed a police case accusing Sharma of leaking the conversation and a defamation case against Gehlot.
The phone tapping case is being investigated by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, which has summoned Sharma for questioning. He is currently out on bail from the Delhi High Court, which has ordered non-coercive action against him.
Sharma has also alleged that Gehlot’s close aides were protected by him in the REET paper leak issue of 2022. The leaking of the teachers’ training exam paper was a political issue raised by the opposition BJP in last year’s assembly elections.
These are the first public allegations made by Sharma against Gehlot, although he has been tweeting against him recently. Notably, the allegations come just a day before the second phase of the Lok Sabha election, which includes voting in Gehlot’s constituency of Jodhpur. Gehlot, who is currently in Jodhpur after campaigning, has not yet commented on these allegations.
