As you head to meet Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Kirodi Lal Meena in Rajasthan, you are greeted with a massive ground in front of his residence, which doubles up as a rally ground behind an iron gate. He loves to narrate anecdotes. For starters, he told me how the area where the interview was being taken was called the ‘Meena High Court’, while there was no presence of the judiciary.
The day before the interview, he reached Sawai Madhopur, the constituency he is contesting from, at midnight and was ready for a rally at 9 am the next day. He is not a new-age social media-savvy politician who communicates through Facebook lives. He is an old-school 71-year-old politician, who has become a “headache" for the Congress government in Rajasthan.
From complaining to agencies about alleged money laundering by Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, to complaining to the Enforcement directorate (ED) about an alleged scam of Rs 20,000 crore, Meena has done it all. Both of these have resulted in Gehlot junior appearing before the ED in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case and simultaneous ED raids in 25 places in the poll-bound state last Friday.
This septuagenarian is more aggressive than many young guns of the BJP in Rajasthan and is raring to go. News18 caught up with the “whistleblower" recently.
Edited Excerpts:
From Jal Jeevan Mission to Ashok Gehlot’s son, you are behind unearthing the alleged scams. Why take them on?
I have been strongly against corruption all my life. When I first became an MLA, I was fired upon. But that didn’t deter me.
Why make these noises in an election year?
I raised the issue of paper leak one-and-a-half years ago. But yes, the complaint on Jal Jeevan Mission is four months old. The ED doesn’t get involved just because of one complaint. No First Information Report (FIR) was lodged. I sat on dharna for three days after I learned that two firms were given Rs 900 crore based on fake and fabricated documents. There was corruption in tendering worth Rs 20,000 crore as far as the Jal Jeevan Mission is concerned.
Will the exam paper leak issue help the BJP in this election?
A 100%. There have been a total of 16 exams and papers in all of them were leaked. I took to the streets in all cases and stopped 10.
सवाई माधोपुर की जनता का भरोसा और आशीर्वाद ही मेरी कमाई है,वादा करता हूँ कि आपका यह विश्वास कभी टूटने नहीं दूँगा। pic.twitter.com/zmdchPdyjf— Dr.Kirodi Lal Meena (@DrKirodilalBJP) November 2, 2023
The opposition is targeting Govind Singh Dotasra (Rajasthan Congress President). But he claims he hasn’t taken a penny of bribe in his life.
Will a thief concede that he has stolen?
Are you calling him a thief?
He is corrupt and no corrupt person will confess to his crimes. I have given proof in this regard.
Will a thief concede that he has stolen? Govind Singh Dotasra is corrupt and no corrupt person will confess to his crimes. I have given proof in this regard…Among the big fish, there are three ministers and six MLAs. I can name those three ministers right away — Subhash Garg and Govind Dotasra. Another minister Sukhram Vishnoi wasn’t directly involved, but his staff were.
What kind of proofs have you submitted?
The REET exam paper was leaked. People from the NGO Rajiv Gandhi Study Circle, whose Chairperson is Sonia Gandhi, leaked it. Initially, they didn’t accept. But when pressure mounted, three individuals from that NGO were arrested, while DP Jaroli (Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education Chairman) had to be sacked. After his sacking, Jaroli said big names were involved in this.
Who are these big fish that we get to hear about so often?
Among the big fish, there are three ministers and six MLAs. I can name those three ministers right away — Subhash Garg and Govind Dotasra. Another minister Sukhram Vishnoi wasn’t directly involved, but his staff were. SOG’s Mohan Poswal indicted innocents, while saving those who were responsible, for all of which I have submitted evidence.
Let’s shift focus to the CM’s son. It is perceived that it is due to your complaint that agencies have started to crack the whip.
I haven’t done anything with ill intent. I have said that he has four benami hotels through which he cleans his money via the Mauritius route. I have given evidence to that effect.
Are you suggesting the Chief Minister’s son laundered black money?
His son did it. If my son or nephew does it (launders money), can he do it without my approval?
You are levelling a very strong allegation against a sitting Chief Minister.
Yes, I know. The CM concerned says he is a bigger ‘fakir’ than Modi ji. But how is it possible that his son is laundering crores of rupees? He must not be doing this without the knowledge of the Chief Minister. He also uses a car rental company to turn black money into white. I have named Ratan Kant Sharma. The ED told me, “We can’t intervene without an FIR." So, in May 2023, I got someone to register a case after which the ED reached here.
You are 71 years old. There is a younger leadership in the Rajasthan BJP. However, you are making exposes and leading street protests. Are you considering yourself to be the face of the BJP?
I was in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakha in 1973 in Bikaner Medical College, when the Emergency was imposed. In Ahmedabad, anti-Emergency material used to get published. Narendra Modi used to get it printed and my job was to bring it to Rajasthan. For 13 months, I did it successfully. Eventually, I was arrested and the police beat me up badly. Ever since, I have it in me to fight against the ills of society.
Who is winning Rajasthan and by how many seats?
I can say with a sense of responsibility that the BJP is coming to power with a huge mandate and the main reason is corruption in this government.
Do you consider yourself as the next CM of Rajasthan?
Never. My ‘sanskar’ have not taught me to go after posts, but to serve. These are decisions made by the BJP Parliamentary Board. I was in the Rajya Sabha. They asked me to fight the election and here I am. When asked about the seat, I told them whatever they decide, would be fine by me.
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