Who Is Rajendra Gudha, The Rajasthan MLA With The Red Diary? 5 Points

Rajendra Singh Gudha, 55, is an MLA from Udaipurwati. He had switched to the Congress from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 2019 and was made a minister in 2021. This is his second stint in the Congress as he had moved to the party earlier as well, after contesting on a BSP ticket in 2008. Mr Gudha was the Minister of State for Sainik Kalyan (Independent Charge), Home Guard and Civil Defence, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

In 2021, shortly after being appointed a minister, Mr Gudha had courted controversy by saying that roads in his constituency should be like actor Katrina Kaif's cheeks. He was addressing people in Udaipurwati when someone from the crowd complained about the state of the roads, prompting the remark. After the video went viral, many social media users called his comment inappropriate and demanded a response from the Congress brass.

Mr Gudha had backed Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in 2020, when he had faced a rebellion led by his then-deputy Sachin Pilot. Last year, however, Mr Gudha switched over to the Pilot camp and began making attacks on the chief minister. The dismissed minister claims he has a red diary containing details of alleged pay-offs made by the Ashok Gehlot camp to save his government during the rebellion.

The dismissed minister and two of his associates had been named in a criminal case in February for allegedly kidnapping a man and getting him to hand over a signed blank cheque. Mr Gudha has denied the allegations. 

The minister of state was dismissed from the cabinet on Friday, hours after raising questions in the Assembly on his own government's success in controlling crimes against women, even as his colleagues in the Congress were speaking out on the Manipur violence issue. Since then, he has stepped up his attacks on Mr Gehlot and his government, and was suspended from the Assembly yesterday.