Gehlot’s ex-aide blames ex-Raj CM for ‘phone tapping’ to topple govt in 2020

In a development that could pose issues for former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his former OSD, Lokesh Sharma, has accused him of being responsible for phone tapping during the 2020 political crisis in the state. Sharma has called for Gehlot to be interrogated on the matter. Sharma was called for questioning at Delhi Police’s Crime Branch office at Rohini. He reached the office at around 11 am, officials said.
The Delhi Police questioned Sharma on Wednesday in connection with the phone-tapping case, which was filed based on a complaint by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
In a seven page written statement, Sharma said he revealed about sequence of events on July 16, 2020, when he got a pen drive containing call recordings. 
In a marked shift from his earlier stand, Sharma stated that Gehlot would be able to explain how he obtained the call recordings and whether the interceptions were conducted legally.
Sharma, in April this year, had publicly alleged that an audio clip of a purported telephonic conversation between Shekhawat and some Congress leaders on “toppling” the then Congress government in Rajasthan in 2020 was given to him by the former chief minister himself.
In the written statement, he said today, “I have stated that the then chief minister had called me at the chief minister’s residence and gave me a pen drive. He directed me to circulate the content of the pen drive to newspapers.
“I went (my) home, transferred the files from the pen drive to my laptop and from laptop to my phone, then circulated them to media houses as directed,” he told PTI.
He said the crime branch should now summon Ashok Gehlot for questioning to know the rest of the details.
“The next course of investigation should involve Ashok Gehlot,” he said
Sharma said that he was not involved in the call interceptions. It was done on the directions of the then chief minister. Now he can disclose further details, whether how the interception was done, whether it was legal or illegal,” he said.
Sharma claimed that phones of several Congress MLAs, from both camps of Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, were intercepted on directions by the chief minister during the political crisis and he used to get transcription of each call.
He said the then chief secretary, DGP, home secretary and principal secretary to the chief minister were all aware of the developments related to phone tapping.
The phone-tapping controversy erupted in July 2020 during a political crisis when the Congress was in power in Rajasthan.