Dholpur Palace row: Congress calls for Raje's prosecution

Highlighting the controversy surrounding the Dholpur estate, the Congress Party on Tuesday alleged that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has committed a grave offence and should be prosecuted.

Congress leader Archana Sharma said that the Dholpur Palace in Rajasthan was converted into a private property in Dushyant Singh's name under his mother Vasundhara Raje's watch.

"When Rajasthan's merger happened in 1954, Dholpur then was a different state. Dholpur Palace was a government property then. Its details lie in all the legal documents available. In 1980, the Raja of Dholpur and Vasundhara Raje's husband Hemant Singh had also admitted in court that it was a government property. Between 2004 and 2008, Lalit Modi had a major role to play in Rajasthan's politics. You can say, he had a huge role to play in the state's policy planning. At that time, Lalit Modi along with Dushyant Singh transferred Dholpur Palace to the latter's name. This is how a public property got transferred into a private property," Sharma told ANI here.

"In the recent controversy surrounding Lalit Modi and Vasundhara Raje - whatever Modi revealed, Raje confessed to them whether it is regarding Dholpur Palace or his travel documents. So, all the complicity that has been proved goes on to show that Raje has committed a grave offence. It is a culpable crime for which she should be prosecuted. She should resign, that is, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack her immediately," she added.

The Congress leader also hit out at the BJP for attempting to avoid all queries regarding the Dholpur Palace controversy.

The Congress has dragged in Hemant Singh of Dholpur, estranged husband of Vasundhara Raje, into its campaign against the Rajasthan Chief Minister and her alleged business links to controversial former IPL chief Lalit Modi.

However, the BJP dismissed Congress' bid as "stooping to a new low" to tar a "popular CM's public image".