Jaipur

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Sunday ordered a probe by a high-level committee into corruption allegations levelled against three sitting MLAs, following a media report based on a sting operation.

According to the report published in a national newspaper, BJP legislator Revantram Danga, Congress MLA Anita Jatav and Independent MLA Ritu Banawat were allegedly involved in taking commissions in exchange for facilitating development works in their respective constituencies.

Taking a firm stand, Chief Minister Sharma reiterated his government’s policy of “zero tolerance” towards corruption and directed that the MLA Local Area Development (LAD) fund accounts linked to the concerned constituencies be frozen with immediate effect.

In a post on X, the Chief Minister described the allegations as extremely serious. “A major newspaper has published a report today regarding corruption in the MLA Local Area Development Fund. This is a grave and worrying matter. Our government maintains a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption by any public servant,” Sharma said.

He further asserted that influence or political position would not shield anyone from accountability. “No matter how influential a person may be, if found guilty of corruption, they will not be spared,” the Chief Minister added.

Sharma also announced that the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police have been instructed to conduct a detailed inquiry through a high-level committee. The committee will be chaired by the State Chief Vigilance Commissioner, who also holds the position of Additional Chief Secretary (Home).

“In view of the seriousness of the allegations, the MLA LAD fund accounts of the concerned assembly constituencies have been frozen,” the Chief Minister stated in his post.

Meanwhile, State Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra termed the allegations a setback for democratic values and called for an investigation by the Ethics Committee of the Assembly. Speaking to reporters, Kharra said the matter should be examined institutionally and transparently.

“This is an unfortunate situation for Indian democracy. Earlier too, an MLA was caught accepting a bribe in exchange for raising a question in the Assembly,” he said. Emphasising procedural accountability, Kharra added that the Ethics Committee should investigate the issue and, if wrongdoing is established, submit its findings to the Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha for appropriate action.

He also underlined the responsibility of political parties in addressing such allegations. “It is equally the duty of political parties to take action against their MLAs if they are found guilty,” Kharra said.

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The investigation is expected to determine the veracity of the allegations and fix responsibility in accordance with law.