ED swoops down on CM's brother

Generating yet another controversy, which has given another dimension to the political drama being played out in Rajasthan, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday swooped down on the farm house and business premises of CM Ashok Gehlot's brother Agrasen Gehlot in Jodhpur. Similar raids were carried out on the premises of former MP Badri Ram Jakhar. Jodhpur is home town and constituency of CM Gehlot.

The raids started early in the morning and continued through the day. They are believed to be connected to charges of money laundering in a fertilizer scam that erupted in Rajasthan in 2007-09. It is related to irregularities in the subsidized fertilizers provided to farmers and was an issue during the 2017 Gujarat elections, where Ashok Gehlot was the party in-charge of the poll.

Sources said there is a court stay in the matter and a penalty of Rs 11 lakh had been deposited in the court. Incidentally, this is the third recent ED raid on people close to CM Gehlot. The Congress party has condemned the raids on the CM’s brother and accused the Central Government and the BJP of playing dirty politics. National spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “Such games are being played by the BJP over the last 6 – 7 days. But it is indeed stooping low to conduct raids on a person who is not even associated with politics.” “Ever since the efforts to topple the government have begun, the IT, the ED and the CBI have all been used. It is an effort to intimidate and pressurize. But they will not be successful,” said Surjewala.