"They are planning to file false cases and blackmail me. They are asking me to apologise."
Former Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha, who was sacked from the Cabinet after hitting out at his own government over rising incidents of crime against women, on Wednesday released three pages of a 'Red Diary' with proof of alleged corrupt practices and wrongdoings of the state Congress.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Gudha held up the 'Red Diary' and also read a couple of pages from it saying he will continue revealing more secrets in the coming days.
Invoking a purported conversation between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Saubhag Singh and Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Dharmendra Rathore, he said the diary mentions talks on settling accounts of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA).
Significantly, CM Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot is the president of RCA. On whether he feared being arrested, the former minister said, "Even if I go to jail, there will be new revelations from the diary as it will remain with my close aides. This diary has details of corrupt deals (under CM Gehlot). It holds all the evidence of corruption done by the Ashok Gehlot government. They are planning to file false cases and blackmail me. They are asking me to apologise."
BJP leader Gyan Dev Ahuja came out in support of Mr Gudha, saying, "Rajendra Gudha today disclosed the transaction of Rs 5,000 cr in the red diary. I thank him for this and if he needs my support, I will be there."
Earlier, speaking to ANI, Mr Gudha said CM Gehlot was very tensed about the contents of the 'Red Diary'.
"The way they (the Congress members) treated me in the Assembly betrays their nervousness. I have never seen anyone so tensed in my whole life. Whatever is written in the book will be out in the public domain," he said.
Mr Gudha was sacked as minister by CM Gehlot after he flagged the incident of four women being found dead in Jodhpur, saying that the Congress government should look within before criticising the Centre over the Manipur situation.
Later, he was marshalled out of the Rajasthan Assembly after he demonstrated against the Gehlot government, holding up the 'Red Diary'.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)