NEW DELHI: According to the revealed pages of the Red Diary, which has caused a political storm, the Rajasthan government led by Congress leader Ashok Gehlot had praised the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, respectively, regarding their actions to ban illegal mining, while it continues in the state.
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“I have no clue,” says incumbent #Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot as Executive Editor Rohan Dua grills him regarding the accusations made in the Laal Diary against the government and the Gandhi family. Will it become a major flashpoint in the… pic.twitter.com/eunxCoHqbH
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) November 24, 2023
Quoting individuals, Congress leader Dharmendra Singh Rathore had claimed that bureaucracy dominated the entire state, while the CM had negligible information neither did he take any action. Rathore had also mentioned Meghraj Singh Ratnoo and Indian Youth Congress leader Abhay Singh Ratnawat who also supported it. He noted in the diary that the government was helpless in the matter.
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The entry stated, “UP CM Yogi and MP CM Shivraj for their bold decisions to curb illegal mining. The diary entry stated, ‘For dinner, I visited Meghraj’s house where Ratnawat was also present. Meghraj highlighted that in Rajasthan, bureaucracy dominated everything, and the CM was unaware. Businessmen felt insecure due to ongoing illegal mining, and the government seemed helpless. In contrast, CM Yogi in UP and CM Shivraj in MP took decisive steps to end illegal mining.’
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I was asked by Mr Kharge & Mr Rahul Gandhi to forget & forgive — Pilot tells me during campaign in a village in Dakhiya in Tonk
As Rajasthan elections reach the last stage, I ask Pilot why,… pic.twitter.com/Pc21lGKFZc
— Rohan Dua (@rohanduaT02) November 23, 2023
Rajendra Gudha, a former Rajasthan minister and Congress MLA, alleges that he obtained a diary from the residence of Congress leader Dharmendra Rathore during an Income Tax raid in July 2020, supposedly on Gehlot’s direction. However, the incumbent CM dismissed the claims as a “collection of lies”.
These developments come at a time when the counting of Rajasthan and four other states is to go underway on December 3. Several opinion polls have depicted a hung assembly, with the results teetering between the Congress and the BJP.