Jaipur, Jun 30 (IANS): The President of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC), Govind Singh Dotasra, on Wednesday demanded the arrest of senior RSS leader Nimbaram -- who is allegedly involved in a graft case for demanding Rs 20 crore as 'commission' from a firm appointed for door-to-door garbage collection here.
Hitting back at Dotasra, the BJP said that targeting the RSS will cost the state government dearly, and warned the Congress government to stop working outside the purview of law to please its 'masters' sitting in Delhi as 'governments' keep changing.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had on Tuesday arrested suspended Jaipur Greater Municipality (JGM) Mayor and BJP leader Somya Gurjar's husband Rajaram Gurjar and a representative of the BVG Company on corruption charges.
The case was registered after an investigation was carried out on the basis of a video clip that went viral on social media, in which Rajaram Gurjar and the company representative were allegedly seen engaged in a conversation related to the Rs 20 crore 'commission' from the firm for getting its payment released from the JGM.
In the purported video, RSS' regional pracharak Nimbaram can also be seen sitting with them.
On Wednesday, Dotasra demanded the arrest of Nimbaram, claiming that the BJP and the RSS have been fully exposed.
The ACB has registered a graft case against Rajaram, Nimbaram and company representatives Omkar Sapre and Sandeep, after investigating the video clip that was sent for examination to two laboratories, which confirmed that these were not doctored.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Rajendra Rathore, lashed out at the Congress government in the state, claiming that the case has been registered with an intention to malign the image of RSS, which is engaged in the service of nation, and for diverting public attention from the real issues.
"This is the first instance where the ACB has converted a preliminary inquiry into an FIR sans any complainant. The video was first sent to a Rajasthan FSL and then to a laboratory in Telangana whereas it should have sent to the central FSL had the agency been dissatisfied with the report of the Rajasthan lab," Rathore said.
The government has dared to target a nationalist organisation which will prove costly, he added.
Rathore also questioned why the other accused in the graft case has not been arrested by the ACB yet.
Former state BJP President Arun Chaturvedi said that the Congress government is deliberately targeting the RSS to please its political masters, which will prove costly as governments keep changing.