Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday told a Delhi court that his allegations against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in relation to the alleged Sanjivani scam were the “truth” and therefore could not “be termed defamation”.
The counsel appearing for Gehlot told the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was served a notice by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police, probing the alleged Rs 900 crore Sanjivani Multistate Credit Cooperative Society scam, following which he filed a reply.
Gehlot’s counsel claimed that Shekhawat suppressed the fact related to the notice. “An FIR was lodged by the SOG Rajasthan in 2020. The complainant filed a reply to SOG’s notice… He suppressed this fact from the court… My client never said that the complainant had been convicted in the case. He said that the complainant is also an accused in the case,” the counsel told the court.
Gehlot’s counsel further said that a case of defamation was not made out against Gehlot. “Prima facie there appears to be involvement… If I am telling the truth, it is not defamation,” the counsel said. The court will further hear the matter on 20 October.
The court had on 7 August summoned Gehlot following Shekhawat’s complaint over the Congress leader’s remarks linking him to the alleged Sanjivani scam. The “scam” is related to thousands of investors allegedly getting duped of about aRs 900 crore by the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society on the promise of highly lucrative returns.
