‘Red diary’ has Pilot-crisis bribe trail, claims sacked Rajasthan minister | India News

JAIPUR: Sacked Rajasthan minister Rajendra Singh Gudha made startling claims on Monday, asserting that he possessed photos from a “red diary” containing potentially damning evidence of corruption against CM Ashok Gehlot.

The Congress legislator alleged that the diary contained details of transactions made to independent MLAs and certain BJP MLAs during the political crisis triggered by former deputy CM Sachin Pilot’s rebellion and the subsequent Rajya Sabha elections in 2020. According to Gudha, the diary also contained information on transactions related to Rajasthan Cricket Association elections of October 2019, in which CM Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot was a candidate for the president’s post.
The legislator said had he not obtained this diary from Gehlot’s confidant Dharmendra Rathore’s residence during an ED search in July 2020, the CM could have faced legal consequences and probably a prison term. The contents of the red diary, according to Gudha, revealed details of accounts involved in the distribution of black money orchestrated by Gehlot. He alleged that the diary contained comprehensive information on recipients and dates of transactions.

Gudha disclosed that on Gehlot’s instructions, he along with another minister Ramlal Jat and Congress leader Dheeraj Gurjar visited Rathore’s residence during the ED search. There, they allegedly retrieved the red diary. Rathore is currently chairman of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation— a political post. Gudha claimed that the CM instructed him to destroy the diary, but he secretly photographed its contents, retaining crucial details of the transactions.
Congress leaders dismissed the ex-minister’s allegations as baseless and challenged him to make the photos of the diary pages public if they indeed exist.
Meanwhile, the BJP said the nation wants to know the contents of the diary. Deputy leader of Opposition, Satish Poonia, accused Congress of multi-layered corruption and argued Gudha should have been allowed to speak in the assembly as an elected representative.