A new political spat broke out in election-bound Rajasthan with the Enforcement Directorate summoning Vaibhav Gehlot, the son of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in a FEMA violation case and searching several locations in relation to the teachers' recruitment exam (2022) paper leak case, including the home and offices of Congress's state unit chief and former education minister Govind Singh Dotasra in Jaipur and Sikar.
Though the ED did not disclose the purpose of the latest summons issued to Gehlot junior, the latter said he had received similar summons 12-13 years ago to which he had submitted detailed responses and the agency did not find any irregularities. “The ED has come back again with the same allegations. People understand why this is happening when there is an election code of conduct,” Vaibhav told reporters. According to reports, the Rajasthan police's inquiry into the leak of a test paper used to recruit teachers is connected to the search operation conducted on Dotasra's property. Along with some other suspects in the case, Om Prakash Hudla, an independent Mahwa (Dausa) MLA, had his home raided by the ED.
The Congress said that the BJP was abusing the central agency because it was afraid of losing the upcoming state assembly elections and that the searches were against the model code of conduct. In defence of the move, the BJP emphasised that the probe into Dotasra was about the future of Rajasthan's youngsters and that it had nothing to do with the upcoming elections. The agency was merely taking action against corruption.