Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday dismissed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s allegations that the Central Bureau of Investigation has chargesheeted leader of opposition in the state assembly Gulab Chand Kataria in Sohrabuddin encounter case at the behest of Congress.
"The Congress has no role in the case and law will take its own course," Gehlot told reporters in Jaipur. On Kataria's announcement on Wednesday that he would resign as member of Legislative Assembly if arrested in the case, Gehlot said, "I leave it to Kataria that what he should do on moral ground after this development."
The CBI has chargesheeted Kataria, who was Rajasthan home minister when the encounter took place, and three others for murder charges in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. The BJP has accused CBI of working at Congress' behest to implicate its members under a "well-planned conspiracy".
On Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's meeting with state leaders, Gehlot said the event has energised the party workers in the state.
The meeting was successful in Bikaner on Wednesday and the rounds of meeting are going on here. The message for partymen is that those who will work will get importance in the party," he said. The CM said that discussions were held and assertion was on strengthening the party at block level.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan unit of the BJP has called for a state-level bandh on May 18 to protest the CBI chargesheet against Kataria. "This is a political conspiracy of Congress-ruled United Progressive Alliance government to falsely implicate Kataria in the case, so the party has decided to call for bandh on May 18," party's state general secretary Kalicharan Saraf said.
He said all the district units of the party have been given directions to make sure that the bandh is successful. The BJP has rejected all charges against Kataria with party president Rajnath Singh expressing full support for him. blood in his body.