Ashok Gehlot asked me to leak Union Minister’s audio clip, his former aide claims

Lokesh Sharma, former officer on special duty (OSD) of Ashok Gehlot, levelled several accusations against the former Rajasthan Chief Minister. Sharma, who was questioned in the illegal phone tapping case, alleged that Gehlot had given him the audio clips of cabinet ministers, and he was asked to release them to the media.

At a press conference in Jaipur, Lokesh Sharma said, "I was silent so far despite intense interrogation several times for 8-9 hours by the Crime Branch in Delhi in the phone tapping case. But the person who was responsible for the phone-tapping incident decided to leave me in the lurch. I was made to take the fallout.”

Sharma claimed that Gehlot gave him phone recordings of Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and others.

"Earlier, I had said that I had received the recordings through social media, but that was not true. Ashok Gehlot had given me the audio clips of Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Congress leader Bhanwarlal Sharma and Sanjay Jain in a pen drive. I was asked to release it to the media," Lokesh Sharma alleged.

He further claimed that the phones of Sachin Pilot and those close to him were tapped when it was learnt that they were going to the Congress high command over problems with Ashok Gehlot’s leadership.

"It is wrong to say that the BJP was behind the attempt to topple Ashok Gehlot's government. Sachin Pilot wanted to convey his feelings about the state leadership to the party high command. When he and people close to him were planning to go to meet High command, their phones were put on tapping," Sharma added.

During the press conference, Sharma played a purported recording of his conversation with Ashok Gehlot where he (Gehlot) asked him about phone recordings.

In the purported recording, Gehlot asked Sharma whether the phone through which recordings were sent to the media had been destroyed or not, and Sharma mentioned to Ashok Gehlot that he had told the media that he had received the audio recordings through social media.

"He (Gehlot) felt that I had not destroyed the phone. On November 26, 2021, an SOG raid was conducted on my office. This is the truth of our former Chief Minister, how he uses people for his benefit and then leaves them alone. I had no involvement in the recording. Whether it was legal or illegal, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot got the recording done and gave it to me in a pen drive,” Sharma said.

Sharma claimed Ashok Gehlot was behind the attempt to sabotage the chances of Sachin Pilot becoming the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

"It is the stubbornness of Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan who thinks that no one other than him should become Chief Minister of the state. Ashok Gehlot even cheated the Congress high command who had supported him. Ashok Gehlot had gone to Jaisalmer to the Tanot Mata temple. He called me asking me to ensure that news is shown that MLAs who have gathered at Shanti Dhariwal's residence want any of them to be the Chief Minister but not Sachin Pilot," Sharma said.

Sharma also played another phone recording, this one about a purported conversation between Gehlot and Sharma regarding the Rajasthan paper leak.

"Ashok Gehlot was very apprehensive about taking action in the paper leak matter. There was an attempt to somehow subvert action against accused DP Jaroli," Lokesh Sharma alleged.

"I am ready to share the evidence I have with the current government. People in the state should know the two faces of the (former) government, one in the open and one behind the scenes," Sharma said

Lokesh Sharma further claimed massive corruption took place during the Congress regime when Ashok Gehlot was at the helm.

"There was massive corruption during Covid-19 pandemic in the purchase of equipment. There was a mining scam. In the rural and city games, there were scams. There was a scam in the scheme regarding distributing mobile phones to women (during Ashok Gehlot regime)," Sharma alleged.