"I didn't say anything new..." says OSD Lokesh Sharma amid ruckus over allegations against Ashok Gehlot
Dec 06, 2023
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], December 6 : Firing a fresh salvo at Ashok Gehlot, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Lokesh Sharma, on Wednesday claimed that he did not say anything "new" and that this has already been said by the former chief minister's son, Vaibhav Gehlot in the "red diary", which reportedly contains the "black deeds" of the former Congress government.
The statement was followed after Sharma's allegation against Ashok Gehlot that the latter was responsible for the defeat of the Congress in the Rajasthan assembly polls.
Taking to 'X', OSD Sharma wrote, "Ashok Gehlot ji's son Shri Vaibhav Gehlot has already accepted what I said after the election results, according to this viral page exposed before the elections by Shri Rajendra Gudha of 'Kathit Lal Diary' that - "That's why Papa is not able to form the government again... every time... this time also, I can give you in writing that the government will lose badly, the reason for this is he. He gets surrounded by the officials in such a way that he starts feeling very bad as a political person".
https://twitter.com/_lokeshsharma/status/1732323062635479088
"If I said the same thing then why did it create so much ruckus ...?? I haven't said anything new"...he added.
Earlier, taking a swipe at Ashok Gehlot, the OSD claimed that the former was "responsible" for the defeat of the Congress party in the Rajasthan assembly polls.
Lokesh Sharma also claimed that the Congress government in the state was monitoring the movements of fellow party leader Sachin Pilot adding that his phone was also being tapped when he was stationed at Manesar with 18 party MLAs in 2020.
He asserted that it was being done on the instructions of Ashok Gehlot to save the Congress government in the state.
Speaking to ANI, Lokesh Sharma said, "During the political crisis in Rajasthan, when Sachin Pilot had gone to Manesar with 18 MLAs, it is natural that state government tracks the movement in such cases. So, the state government was keeping track of Sachin Pilot and the people he was meeting. Sachin Pilot was being monitored on where he was going, and who was he talking on to the phone so that corrective measures could be taken."
He further said that Congress was able to save its government due to the monitoring of Pilot.
"It was because of the monitoring that we could bring some people back. He was also being chased and all his movements were tracked. I believe Sachin Pilot was aware of this and that he is being monitored," Lokesh Sharma said.
Lokesh Sharma also emphasized that it is the need of the hour that Congress should bring new and young faces to give tough competition to the BJP.
"We have to face a huge challenge against BJP. The time has come for a change. Young faces have to be promoted. It will improve our performance. Need to bring young faces who have the motivation to do hard work," he said.
Congress suffered defeat at the hands of the BJP in Rajasthan in the recent Assembly polls. BJP is set to form the government as it registered victory on 115 seats whereas Congress was able to win only 69 seats in a 200-member Assembly.