Ashok Gehlot's brother Agrasain Gehlot has been summoned by the ED in an alleged money laundering case
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's elder brother Agrasain Gehlot has been asked to join investigation in an alleged money laundering case linked to the fertiliser export scam that took place between 2007 and 2009. The Enforcement Directorate has summoned him for questioning on Wednesday.
"Agrasain Gehlot has been asked to appear before the agency officials in Delhi tomorrow morning," sources in ED said.
On July 22, the Enforcement Directorate had searched his properties in connection with the case. The Central probe agency had also conducted raids at 13 places spread across Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat and Delhi, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The Congress questioned the timing of the raids, which took place seven years after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence detected the alleged scam.
Mr Gehlot's government is facing a huge risis following the rebellion of his former deputy Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs loyal to him. Mr Gehlot claims he has the numbers but is currently engaged in a tussle with Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra over starting the assembly session.
The Governor has rejected one proposal from the Chief Minister to convene the assembly. He sent back a second proposal to start assembly on July 31, suggesting a three-week postponement, giving MLAs a time window to attend.
Today, the government sent a third proposal, sticking to its July 31 date. In response to the Governor's queries on whether the government wants to hold a trust vote, the proposal asserted that Mr Gehlot has majority.
The Congress said the raids were part of the BJP's pressure tactics to crush Ashok Gehlot. Senior party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said the BJP ordered the raids after "gimmicks" to topple the Congress government did not succeed.
"Prime Minister Modi has created "raid raj' in the country but we are not going to be scared," he had said.
It has been alleged that Anupam Krishi, the firm owned by the Chief Minister's brother, "diverted" 35,000 metric tonnes of "muriate of potash" or MoP, valued at Rs 130 crore in the international market.
Anupam Krishi is an authorised dealer of Indian Potash Ltd, the only firm allowed to import "muriate of potash" or MoP, which farmers get at a subsidised rate. Export of the chemical is banned.
According to ED sources, between 2007 and 2009, Anupam Krishi bought "muriate of potash" at subsidised rates. But instead of distributing it to farmers, the company allegedly sold it to a few firms, which exported it to Malaysia and Singapore as "industrial salt".
When the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence unearthed the alleged scam in 2012-13, Agrasain Gehlot had told the authorities that some middlemen who bought MoP from him to distribute it to farmers had sold it for exports instead.