Gajendra Singh Shekhawat questions audio tapes' authenticity after notice by Rajasthan SOG

PTI photo

New Delhi: Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Monday (July 20) questioned the authenticity of the audio clips, cited by the Congress to allege his involvement in a purported bid to topple the Rajasthan government, and sought to know its source and how the state police got it.

"They should first clarify the authenticity of these tapes. Who recorded it and where did the SOG get it from. Investigation should be carried out to find out if these tapes are genuine or not," the Union Minister said. His remarks indicated that he is unlikely to join the probe amid a raging political controversy over the audio clips.

The Rajasthan Police SOG, which is probing the audiotapes leak case, on Monday sent a notice to Shekhawat asking him to give his voice sample and record his statement. Congress has alleged that the BJP leader's voice figure in them and asked Shekhawat to step down from his post on moral grounds. 

On the other hand, BJP has called the clips manufactured and demanded a CBI probe, questioning whether state police tapped the phones of politicians in violation of rules.

The FIR, registered by Rajasthan Police, mentions details of alleged conversations between rebel Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma and Gajendra Singh and a third man, named Sanjay Jain. The police has arrested Jain.

Congress claims Gajendra Singh, the name mentioned in the FIR, is a reference to Union minister Shekhawat.

Rajasthan plunged into a political crisis after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's deputy Sachin Pilot rebelled. Congress later removed Pilot as deputy chief minister and also as the party's state unit head.