Jaipur: A senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak has not been responding to summons issued by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for an investigation into a Rs 20 crore bribery case in Rajasthan.
On June 10, a viral video clip showed Nimbaram, regional head of the RSS, allegedly involved in a discussion in which a bribe deal was being negotiated in lieu of the release of pending payment to BVG, a firm engaged in the door-to-door collection of garbage in Jaipur. In one of those videos, Rajaram Gurjar, husband of suspended Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation mayor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Somya Gurjar, was seen to be in talks with a BVG representative, Omkar Sapre, asking for a 10% commission in lieu of clearing outstanding bills of Rs 276 crore.
On the basis of the video, the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) booked four people involved in the alleged bribery case. On June 29, it arrested Gurjar and Sapre. On August 27, it filed a chargesheet against them. However, the investigation against the RSS leader and another person is pending.
The ACB had sent two notices to Nimbaram’s residence, summoning him for interrogation. However, the RSS leader didn’t respond. The investigation officer (IO) will send a fresh notice soon.
“The IO sent two notices to Nimbaram’s residence for interrogation under section of CrPC 160, but the notices could not be served. The agency will repeat this practice. If this time also the notice is not served, then the ACB will take a warrant from the court,” a senior officer of the ACB confirmed to The Wire.
Before registering a first information report in the case, the video clip was sent to the state Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination. “It did not have the ability to conduct tests on certain parameters, so the clip was sent to an FSL in another state. After receiving confirmation from two laboratories that it was not a doctored video, the ACB has registered a case under 120B of the IPC and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and arrested two accused,” Bhagwan Lal Soni, ACB director-general said.
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Congress-BJP tussle
The issue has also ignited a Congress-BJP row in the state. The ruling Congress has demanded that the RSS leader be arrested soon. “We demand that Nimbaram should be arrested without any delay. Everyone has seen the video in which a top RSS functionary was seen while talks were held for the release of payment to the garbage collection company. Wherever RSS gets a chance, they get engrossed in corruption and sit in hiding when a case is registered. It is in their nature to get immersed in corruption. Nimbaram should come forward. Hiding in Lucknow or Delhi will not work,” Govind Singh Dotasra, Rajasthan Congress chief said.
Dotasra said that this case has fully exposed the BJP and the RSS. “They call themselves honest and nationalists, but under the guise of nationalism and in the name of religion, they are involved in rampant corruption,” he said, adding that corrupt leaders will be arrested.
On the other hand, the BJP accuses the Gehlot government of dragging the name of Nimbaram in the bribery case to defame the saffron party and the RSS.
Rajendra Rathore, deputy leader of opposition in the Rajasthan assembly, said that it is a ‘unique case’ where there are no complainants but the ACB has arrested two persons. “This is revenge politics for which Ashok Gehlot is known. The Congress government is misusing investigative agencies for political gains. The state government has used the ACB as part of its political vendetta to target a nationalist organisation,” Rathore said.
The RSS also argued that allegations against Nimbaram are an effort to present ‘distorted facts’ to assassinate his character. “We refute these false allegations and slanders being made out of ideological malice. An attempt has been made to present distorted facts even though no exchange of money has taken place. This is character assassination of a respected person by accusing them of being involved in corruption. Being a responsible person in the society, the regional pracharak Nimbaram is ready to support any kind of investigation,” Hanuman Singh Rathore, another RSS leader, said in a statement.
However, Rathore admitted that Nimbaram had met BVG executives. “The BVG company executives had met Nimbaram with a proposal to contribute CSR funds for the development of a Pratap Gaurav Kendra in Udaipur which the RSS has set up. The April 20 meeting was a courtesy meeting and Nimbaram had asked them to visit the centre and contribute accordingly. The company officials set a date, but never visited the centre and so, the question of CSR funding or any other assistance never arose,” Rathore said.
The central leadership of the BJP has closely followed this case since the ACB lodged an FIR against Nimbaram. The party’s national president J.P. Nadda’s office has been following up on the case with the state unit. “The central leaders have assured full support on the issue and will guide us to use all democratic tools to oppose the injustice aiming to defame the RSS. They have also offered legal help and services of noted lawyers to handle the case,” said a BJP leader aware of the development.
According to political analysts, if Nimbaram is arrested, the BJP will have to devise a counter-strategy to deal with it. “Nimbaram is the biggest RSS functionary in Rajasthan. His name in the bribery case is bringing a lot of disrepute to the organisation. If there is an arrest, the entire focus of the BJP will be to ensure that it does not affect the image of the RSS,” political commentator Mukesh Sharma said.
Avadhesh Akodia is an independent journalist. He tweets @AvadheshJpr.