Where is the red diary, produce it: Sibal to Shah over home minister’s barb at Ashok Gehlot

PTI, Aug 27, 2023, 8:52 PM IST

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his ”red diary” barb at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and asked him to produce the diary if he knows its whereabouts.

Shah on Saturday demanded the resignation of Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot over a ”red diary” which, he alleged, contained details of corruption and black deeds of the state government.

Addressing a ”Sahakar Kisan Sammelan” in Gangapur city in the poll-bound state, Shah had said, ”Nowadays Gehlot saab is very afraid of the colour red. The colour of the diary is red, but black deeds are hidden in it. The red diary has details of multi-crore corruption.”

In a post on X, Sibal said, ”Rajasthan: Amit Shah targets Gehlot over a ‘red diary’. ‘The colour of the diary is red but inside black deeds are hidden’. Where is the ‘red diary’ Amit ji? Produce it.”

”Have you forgotten about the ‘Birla-Sahara diaries’ where the black deeds were ‘written’ not hidden?” Sibal said.

Sacked Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha had claimed that the red diary which he had secured from the residence of Congress leader Dharmendra Rathore during an income tax raid in July 2020 on the directions of the chief minister had details of Gehlot’s financial transactions.

Assembly polls in Rajasthan are slated for later this year.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during UPA I and II, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party’s support. He has floated a non-electoral platform ‘Insaaf’ aimed at fighting injustice.