ED arrests former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi in money laundering case
New Delhi/Jaipur, Apr 24 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate Thursday arrested Congress leader and former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme, officials said.
Joshi was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the federal probe agency in Jaipur, they said.
The ED's money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by Rajasthan's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into the scheme that aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections.
The scheme was being implemented in Rajasthan by the state's Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department. Joshi was the minister of this department in the previous Ashok Gehlot government.
Four people have been arrested in the case by the ED till now.
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Siddaramaiah, Yatnal trade barbs in Assembly over remarks on ‘skull cap-wearing voters’
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal engaged in a heated exchange in the Karnataka Assembly after Yatnal admitted his controversial remark that he did not seek votes from people wearing skull caps.
Siddaramaiah strongly countered Yatnal’s statement, warning that such comments would politically isolate him. “If you say so, you can never become Chief Minister, nor will you come to power. In the next election, you will be completely defeated. Our votes will never go with you because you are against Scheduled Castes, against backward classes, and against minorities,” the Chief Minister said.
The verbal duel continued as Yatnal taunted Siddaramaiah, reminding him that he was once expelled from the JD(S). “Whoever gets expelled, does he become Chief Minister?” Yatnal asked.
Siddaramaiah shot back, “It will be very happy if you become a Chief Minister, but from which party will you become the CM? You have been expelled from the BJP, you build your own party if you want to become Chief Minister.”
Yatnal responded that he was ready to launch a “non-adjustment political party,” claiming it would not harm the BJP but instead benefit it. Siddaramaiah quipped that he should indeed form such a party if Congress were to gain from it.
The argument escalated further with Yatnal declaring that this would be Siddaramaiah’s last term as Chief Minister. Siddaramaiah, however, dismissed his claims and retorted, “I will not become the Chief Minister. You should not become the next Chief Minister either. For that, form a new party.”
Yatnal insisted that if Siddaramaiah steps aside, Congress votes would shift to his side. To this, Siddaramaiah firmly said, “For no reason will our votes go with them because they are opponents of Scheduled Castes, opponents of backward classes, opponents of minorities.”
At one point, Yatnal told Speaker U.T. Khader that he, would float a party. Yatnal maintained, “We are only the opponents of the traitors of the country, not the opponents of SCs.”
Seizing the moment, Siddaramaiah pressed Yatnal again: “Who openly said that we don’t want the votes of those who wear skull caps?” Yatnal admitted without hesitation, “Yes, I was the one who said I don’t want votes. What is it? I have no fear.”
Siddaramaiah then warned that such politics would only ensure Yatnal never came to power. “You will not become the Chief Minister for any reason, you will not come to power next year, you will completely lose in the next election,” he said.
Yatnal countered, claiming that the BJP would win 130 seats and replace Congress. Siddaramaiah, however, asserted that the Congress would return to power in 2028. “It is 100% true. For whatever reason, whether it is BJP or JD(S), nobody else can come to power. Yatnal is now an expelled member of the BJP, an independent. He cannot come to power.”
During the debate, Siddaramaiah also spoke about instability within the JD(S). He recalled that when he was party president, the JD(S) had won 59 seats, but that number later fell drastically to just 18. He remarked that alliances, including with the BJP, might be the only way for the JD(S) to remain politically relevant.
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