ED Raids On Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Mahesh Joshi May Jeopardise His Congress Ticket For Elections

Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Mahesh Joshi's office became a subject of scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday (3 November) concerning alleged corruption in a drinking water project. These searches represent the latest in a series of similar raids in the run-up to the Rajasthan elections.

According to individuals familiar with the situation, the ED confiscated documents and files from Joshi's office located in the state secretariat in Jaipur. Simultaneously, the residence of Subodh Agarwal, an official in the public health engineering department, was also subjected to a search in Jaipur.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has accused the central agencies of operating under the influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government, particularly in opposition-ruled states going to polls.

Notably, Joshi is one of the three leaders who played key roles in the 2022 defiance against the Congress high command directive. He is considered close to Gehlot but his name is not among the 151 candidates declared by the party till now. With the recent raids, the possibility of getting a ticket further diminishes.

According to Hindustan Times, Joshi stated that he welcomed the ED's raids but urged that innocent individuals should not be targeted. He remarked, "The ED has the right to conduct raids, and I have no objections. They can take all the documents and files they need."

BJP MP Kirori Lal Meena has alleged a Rs 20,000 crore scam in the Rajasthan drinking water project and has implicated Joshi. Meena claimed that contractors submitted false experience certificates and documents for project tenders. In September, he asserted that he had provided the ED with documents to substantiate his claims.

Expressing commitment to answer ED's questions, Joshi requested the agency for fair actions and only those who are found guilty should be targeted and not cause trouble to the innocent. He also pointed out that the tenders cited by Meena had been canceled, rendering his allegations baseless.

In a related development, the ED conducted a raid at the residence of Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra last Thursday in connection with an alleged paper leak case and issued summons to his sons in a related money laundering case.

Similarly, a notice to Vaibhav Gehlot, Ashok Gehlot's son, for alleged contraventions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), after which he appeared before the ED on 30 October.