The Rajasthan government in a late night order has suspended Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation Mayor Munesh Gurjar, whose husband Sushil Gurjar was yesterday arrested by the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau for allegedly taking Rs 2 lakh as a bribe in exchange for issuing a land lease. Ms Gurjar has also been suspended from her civic body seat -- Ward Number 43 in Jaipur's heritage corporation.
Since the mayor's husband was caught accepting the bribe at the mayor's residence, while she was present there, and Rs 40 lakh was recovered in cash from the residence, it appears that the mayor was involved, and could influence the investigation in the case, the order said.
The ACB has arrested two others, along with Sushil Gurjar, and will question them over two days. A case has been filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act and further investigations are underway.
A complaint with the police claimed that Sushil Gurjar, through his aides - Narayan Singh and Anil Dubey, had been demanding ₹ 2 lakh from the complainant to expedite the approval of a lease application for a plot. Officials laid a trap based on the complaint and arrested them.
During a search of Sushil Gurjar's home, officials recovered over Rs 40 lakh in cash. Over Rs 8 lakh in cash was recovered from Narayan Singh's home. A counting machine was brought in from the bank to count the notes.
This embarrassment for the Congress comes soon after the "Red Diary" row, with the grand old party fighting with its back against the wall in an election year.
The BJP has attacked the Congress, saying it's a government of loot and jhooth (lies) and the chief minister has bandages on his eyes, not his feet. Mr Gehlot is nursing a foot injury.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had hit back, saying the fact that the state's anti corruption bureau arrested the mayor's husband is in itself an indication that the government is serious about cracking down on corruption.
"ACB works like this only in Rajasthan. In other states, they don't get permission. We have arrested Collector, Superintendent of Police and members of Rajasthan Public Service Commission, and now the Mayor's husband," he said.
Ministers from Mr Gehlot's cabinet too appeared to be distancing themselves from the mayor.
The Municipal Corporation Jaipur Heritage has a Congress board. In June, Munesh Gurjar and a few other Congress councillors protested against the then commissioner of the corporation and accused him of corruption. They had also staged a dharna in the corporation headquarters demanding action against the officer.
In 2019, the Congress government created two municipal corporations in cities like Kota and Jaipur, saying the population was too large. Politically, it was seen as a move by the ruling party to loosen the BJP's grip on cities and municipal corporations that have been their traditional vote bank.
Jaipur's heritage city and Greater Jaipur have two mayors, Munesh Gurjar from the Congress and Soumya Gurjar from the BJP. Ironically, both have been in the news for the wrong reasons, with allegations of corruption levelled at both their husbands.
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