Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the controversy involving senior IAS officer and Additional Chief Secretary Shikhar Agarwal. He said merely placing the officer on Awaiting Posting Orders (APO) status was not sufficient and called the controversy the biggest scandal to emerge during Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma’s nearly three-year tenure. Gehlot also questioned the Chief Minister’s role, alleging that the controversy involved decisions taken at the highest levels of the government and the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). Commenting on reports that 40 villas had been acquired at once, the former Chief Minister said the revelations were shocking. Making a reference to Agarwal’s surname, Gehlot remarked that the officer had indeed reached the ‘shikhar’ (pinnacle) of such activities. “The Chief Minister must take responsibility and come forward to answer the allegations being raised against him and the CMO. Simply placing an officer on APO status will not be enough. The matter should be handed over to the CBI and ED.
Only an investigation by these agencies can establish the truth,” he said. He also alleged that decisions had been taken with complete disregard for established norms and claimed that the controversy could be indicative of wider irregularities within the administration. Gehlot alleged that a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sharma had granted concessions to the company associated with the villas allegedly provided to Shikhar Agarwal. He questioned the decisions taken when Agarwal served as the Chief Minister’s Additional Chief Secretary and later as Chairman of the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board. According to Gehlot, these decisions raised serious questions about transparency and accountability in the administration.
He alleged that the state government needed to explain the circumstances under which the concessions were granted. Gehlot also raised questions about the posting of an Inspector General-rank officer, who was earlier associated with the Chief Minister’s Office, as Inspector General of Police in Udaipur. Referring to reports of an alleged physical altercation involving the officer Shikhar Agarwal, the Chief Minister and members of the Chief Minister’s family a few months back, Gehlot claimed that a serious incident had taken place in the Chief Minister’s presence. He referred to allegations that a slap had also been exchanged during the altercation. Gehlot questioned why the officer was subsequently given what he described as a prime posting in Udaipur. “If the intention had been to punish him, he would not have been given such an important posting.
Perhaps the posting was meant to ensure his silence so that he would not speak about the incident,” he alleged. He also described the Udaipur Development Authority as a major centre of alleged corruption, claiming that the situation had developed during Shikhar Agarwal’s tenure as Udaipur Collector. He alleged that networks of intermediaries were operating across the region and that the Anti-Corruption Bureau was being evaded. Gehlot also targeted Chief Minister Sharma over allegations involving his relative, Pramod Sharma, who he claimed was listed as an absconder in police records but continued to move around freely in Jaipur.
Recalling his first meeting with CM Bhajan Lal Sharma after the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan, Gehlot said he had advised the new Chief Minister to use the opportunity given to him by the people to serve everyone and maintain an administration free from corruption. He said he had specifically advised CM Sharma to keep relatives away from government affairs and ensure that no questions were raised about corruption under his leadership. “It would have been better had he followed that advice. Instead, the names of his relatives continue to surface. Pramod Sharma is listed as absconding in police records, yet he is reportedly moving around freely in Jaipur,” Gehlot alleged. He also claimed that Pramod Sharma had been arrested in Bharatpur during his tenure as the Chief Minister and questioned how the case against him was subsequently closed around the time Bhajan Lal Sharma was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
“This is the same Pramod Sharma who was arrested in Bharatpur during my tenure. The case against him was closed even before the new Chief Minister formally took charge. We chose not to comment at the time, expecting that the new Chief Minister would examine the matter himself,” Gehlot said. He questioned whether the case had been closed because of his own position or influence and alleged that fresh controversies were now emerging instead of the earlier matter being reopened. –IANS arc/khz
