Rajasthan police has reportedly registered FIRs against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Congress legislator Bhanwarlal Sharma and BJP leader Sanjay Jain, in connection with allegations of horse-trading with the rebel Congress MLAs. Their names had popped up in an audio tape making the rounds in the media, and the Congress wanted them investigated.
Speaking to mediapersons on Friday, Congress spokersperson Surjewala had accused Shekhawat and Sharma of conspiring to topple the government. “This is a black day for democracy. We have some demands: There should be a Special Operations Group [SOG] investigation into the poaching attempts. An FIR should be registered against [Bhanwarlal] Sharma and [BJP leader] Sanjay Jain [heard in the audio]. There should be investigation on where the black money came from, through which hawala network, and who all were the recipients? Apart this audio, who else was involved in the plan to topple the government?”
Audio clips had earlier surfaced in which Sharma is purportedly heard discussing with a Union minister about luring MLAs from the Ashok Gehlot camp to Sachin Pilot’s side. Sharma, however, said the audio clips were fake. “This is neither my voice nor did I talk. This is totally fake,” Sharma, who is Sardarshaha (Churu) MLA, said in a video message.
Surjewala said Bhanwarlal Sharma has been suspended from primary membership of Congress, pending verification of the tapes. The party also suspended MLA Vishvendra Singh from primary membership.