Lokesh Sharma, a former aide to former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, has revealed new details surrounding a 2020 political crisis involving leaked audio clips of Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and party leaders. In a recent press conference in Jaipur, Sharma claimed that Gehlot himself gave him a pen drive containing audio clips and instructed him to circulate them to the media, a shift from Sharma’s earlier stance that he obtained the clips from social media.
Addressing reporters, Sharma played a recording of his conversation with Gehlot, where the chief minister allegedly asked him about phone recordings. He further claimed that following the political crisis, his private residence was raided to ensure that the mobile phone used to circulate the clips was destroyed. “On July 16, 2020, the then-chief minister came to Hotel Fairmont, where the Congress MLAs of his camp were staying following the political crisis. He left the hotel around 4 pm. Later, I got a call from Gehlot’s PSO Ramniwas that he was calling me to the chief minister’s residence. When I reached, Gehlot gave me this pen drive having three audio clips and a paper with a transcript of the clips,” Sharma stated.
Sharma explained that he went home and transferred the audio clips to his laptop and mobile before disseminating them to the media. Following this, Gehlot allegedly called him twice to question the delay in broadcasting the news. In March 2021, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Sharma based on Shekhawat’s complaint, charging him with criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and unlawful interception of telephonic conversations. The case is currently under investigation by Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, and Sharma is on bail, with the Delhi High Court ordering non-coercive action against him.
Despite assurances of support from Gehlot, Sharma claimed that he was neglected and faced mental torture due to the ongoing investigation. “I did what my boss asked me to do,” Sharma said. “I did not say this when the Congress was in power because I was working as his OSD. When the party lost the assembly elections, I held Gehlot responsible.”
Sharma’s revelations come as Rajasthan prepares for a new political chapter, with Gehlot under scrutiny not only for the phone-tapping case but also for alleged involvement in the Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test (REET) paper leak. Sharma also accused Gehlot of focusing solely on the Jalore seat, where his son is contesting, while neglecting other crucial party responsibilities.
