Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has submitted a memorandum to the Rajasthan chief electoral officer, alleging that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot failed to disclose information about criminal cases against him in his nomination papers.
A similar complaint has also been made to the Jodhpur district election officer.
Gehlot is contesting from Jodhpur’s Sardarpura seat for the November 25 Rajasthan assembly polls. His office has not issued an immediate response to the allegations.
After a meeting with Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Praveen Gupta at the secretariat, Shekhawat addressed reporters, stating, “In his affidavit filed along with the nomination papers, Chief Minister Gehlot has not mentioned two such cases going on against him which are cognisable and connected with serious crimes.” “One case is related to a land scam and the other is related to robbery and rape. He hid information regarding both the cases in his affidavit which are cognisable under the Representation of the People Act,” the minister said.
Shekhawat further asserted that Gehlot’s awareness of these cases makes the omission in his affidavit significant. “We have brought this to the attention of the Election Commission and urged them to take appropriate action,” Shekhawat added.
Meanwhile, in Jodhpur, District Election Officer Himanshu Gupta sought details from the returning officer on Gehlot’s nomination following objections on the same grounds.
The objections stem from a complaint by an individual identified as Pawan Pareek, who contends that Gehlot submitted a fabricated and false affidavit. He has demanded the rejection of Gehlot’s nomination and has also called for a case against the chief minister.
According to Pareek, “Gehlot was required to provide complete details about the pending criminal cases against him, but the information was incomplete, with two criminal cases being concealed.”
Gupta said the objection was registered and a detailed report summoned from the returning officer concerned.
He added, “We will investigate the matter after receiving the report.”
