ED summons Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot's son in FEMA case, searches premises of others

On October 19, Gehlot accused the BJP-led Union government of misusing investigative agencies to go after opposition leaders, even after the implementation of the model code of conduct

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 26 summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot in a foreign exchange violation (FEMA) probe and has been asked to appear for questioning on October 27 in Jaipur.

The agency also conducted searches at the residences of the Congress party’s state president Govind Singh Dotasara and independent legislator Om Prakash Hudla.

These searches were conducted in connection with the alleged paper leak case in the 2021 Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers, which was being held for the recruitment of government school teachers.

Congress has nominated Dotasra as its candidate for the Lacchmangarh assembly constituency, where he will be facing off against Subhash Maharia of the BJP, while Hudla has been chosen as the Congress candidate for the Mahwa assembly segment.

Reacting to the development, Ashok Gehlot trained guns at the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging the saffron party doesn’t want the benefits of Congress’ guarantees to reach women of the state.

“Date 25/10/23 Congress Launches Guarantees for Women in Rajasthan. Date 26/10/23 ED conducts a raid at the residence of Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra. My son Vaibhav Gehlot received a summons from ED. Now, you can understand what I am saying, the frequent ED raids in Rajasthan occur because the BJP does not want the benefits of guarantees provided by the Congress to reach women, farmers, and the poor in Rajasthan,” Gehlot writes on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

On October 19, Gehlot accused the BJP-led Union government of misusing investigative agencies to go after opposition leaders, even after the implementation of the model code of conduct.

He called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission to step in.

The summons to Vaibhav Gehlot are linked to the recent ED raids against Rajasthan-based hospitality group Triton Hotels & Resorts Pvt. Ltd., Vardha Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. and its directors and promoters Shiv Shankar Sharma, Rattan Kant Sharma and others.

Earlier in August, the agency had searched the group and its promoters for three days at various locations in Jaipur, Udaipur, Mumbai and Delhi. Rattan Kant Sharma’s alleged links with Vaibhav Gehlot are allegedly under the scanner of the ED and it is expected to question and record his statement under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Unaccounted cash of Rs 1.2 crore was seized by the ED after these searches.

(With inputs from PTI)