First want them to authenticate clips: Union Minister on SOG notice

New Delhi: Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who was on Monday served a notice by the Rajasthan Police’s Special Operation Group (SOG) to record his statement with regards to the alleged audio tape leak case, asked it to authenticate the audio tape first, reiterating that ‘my doors are always open for any kind of enquiry’.

“The SOG of the Rajasthan Police has sent a notice through my personal secretary. In the notice, they have asked me to record my statement and voice sample”, the Union Jal Shakti Minister said.

He further remarked that he first wants the SOG to check the authencity of the audio clips, demanding to know with whose permission were the clips recorded.

“First they should come out with authenticity. I’ve already said that my doors are always open for any kind of enquiry”, Shekhawat said.

Notably, the controversy pertains to the emergence of three audio tapes in Rajasthan, in which some people can be heard discussing ways to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in the state. One of the voices, the ruling Congress alleges, is that of Shekhawat. The other voice, it alleges, is that of party MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma, whom it has since suspended from the party’s membership.

Along with Sharma, Vishvendra Singh, another rebel MLA, too, has been suspended. The SOG has also arrested Sanjay Jain, a businessman. While the Congress has alleged that Jain is a BJP leader, the BJP has said that he does not belong to the party.

Shekhawat, meanwhile, has rejected the allegations and said that the voice on the audio is not his.

The SOG was constituted by CM Gehlot to probe the alleged conspiracy behind attempts to topple his government.