Graft charges against Rajasthan minister: BJP MP Meena evicted from dharna site outside police station

BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena and his supporters sitting on a dharna in front of a police station here demanding registration of FIRs over alleged corruption in Rajasthans Public Health and Engineering Department were evicted from the site on Thursday, police said.They were taken to Chaksu police station on the outskirts of Jaipur and later released, they said.Meena has alleged irregularities in the grant of tenders related to Jal Jeevan Mission projects by the Public Health and Engineering Department PHED.

BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena and his supporters sitting on a dharna in front of a police station here demanding registration of FIRs over alleged corruption in Rajasthan's Public Health and Engineering Department were evicted from the site on Thursday, police said.

They were taken to Chaksu police station on the outskirts of Jaipur and later released, they said.

Meena has alleged irregularities in the grant of tenders related to Jal Jeevan Mission projects by the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED). He along with his supporters and the complainant sat on the dharna in front of the Ashok Nagar police station on Tuesday evening alleging the police ''refused to lodge a case''.

On Thursday morning, when Meena went to take a bath, police barricaded the dharna site and removed his supporters' vehicles. Soon after he returned, the protesters were put in a bus and taken to Chaksu police station. They were released later in the day, a police official said.

While being evicted from the site, Meena alleged that he and the complainant had come to the police station to lodge complaints about the ''scams'' related to the PHED, but the police did not register any case.

A police official present at the site said the allegations were to be probed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and therefore the MP was asked to lodge a complaint with it.

In one of the complaints, it was alleged that tenders of Rs 900 crore were issued to two firms based on fake experience certificates in 48 projects of the Jal Jeevan Mission. Two senior officials have been named in one of the complaints, while Rajasthan PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi and others have been named in the other.

''The chief minister says the police must register FIRs. I came here with the complainant, the leader of opposition came, the BJP's state president came but the FIRs were not registered,'' Meena said, accusing Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of lying.

Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Rajendra Rathore, who went to Chaksu police station in solidarity with Meena, told reporters that BJP MPs and MLAs will march from the party office to Raj Bhawan to give a representation to Governor Kalraj Mishra demanding registration of FIRs.

Rajasthan BJP president C P Joshi also targeted Gehlot over the issue.

''You (Gehlot) are misleading the people of Rajasthan. It is clearly visible that there is a difference between your words and actions,'' he said here.

The chief minister has repeatedly said that FIRs are registered mandatorily but they are not being registered in connection with the scams of his government, he charged.

PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi has dismissed the allegations against him as ''totally baseless'' and said a minister does not have a role in the tendering process.