Amit Shah rakes up 'red diary', asks Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot to resign

Raking up the ‘red diary’ controversy, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Saturday demanded the resignation of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Shah hit out at Gehlot while addressing the ‘Sahakar Kisaan Sammelan’ in Gangapur, Rajasthan. “The red diary contains all the details of corruption worth crores of rupees. I want to tell Ashok Gehlot that nothing happens by sending a few people to shout slogans. If you have any shame, then resign,” he said. Watch:

VIDEO | "The red diary contains all the details of corruption worth crores of rupees. I want to tell Ashok Gehlot that nothing happens by sending a few people to shout slogans. If you have any shame, then resign," says Union Home minister Amit Shah in his address during 'Sahakar… pic.twitter.com/UQgLUNOl6t

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 26, 2023

What is the ‘red diary’? The reference to such a diary, allegedly containing a record of corruption under Rajasthan’s Congress CM was first made by a former minister in Gehlot’s cabinet. Rajendra Gudha, the sacked minister, mentioned the ‘red diary’ after he was sacked from the cabinet for talking about atrocities against women in the state last month. Gudha claimed to have recovered the diary from the house of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Dharmendra Rathore, who is said to be close to Gehlot. The sacked minister further claimed that Rathore had asked him to take the diary during an Income Tax raid at his residence following a 2020 revolt against the CM. “Even if I go to jail, there will be new revelations in the diary. Corruption details are there in this diary. The red diary contains all the evidence of corruption by the Ashok Gehlot government. They are planning to file false cases against me,” Gudha said at a presser a few weeks ago. He also read out some excerpts from the diary. “Bhawani Shankar Samota, treasurer, RCA, had come with Rajiv Khanna (who was earlier a part of the cricket association). They both did some calculations on the cricket association. Bhawani Samota did not fulfill most of his promises and I said this wasn’t right. Please fulfill the promises made. Then Bhawani Samota said he would inform CP sahab about it,” Gudha claimed the diary to say. “Vaibhav ji (CM Gehlot’s son) and I spoke about the expenses in the RCA election and how Bhawani ji (Bhawani Samota) would decide and…,” Gudha added as written in the diary.