On Monday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot initiated the first exercise to expand his cabinet. He inducted 23 ministers in the Council of Ministers including one from Congress alliance partner Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). The Governor of the state Kalyan Singh administrated the oath of office to the new ministers at Raj Bhavan, Jaipur.
The most shocking induction in the list of cabinet ministers is the name of Saleh Mohammad (MLA from Pokhran) who is a highly controversial figure. His father- Gazi Fakir – is also a controversial personality.
In 2013, when the Congress government was ruling Rajasthan, it transferred Jaisalmer SP Pankaj Kumar Chowdhary who later on revealed that a spy working for Pakistan was caught from Congress MLA Saleh Mohammad’s petrol pump. Chowdhary had said that the Pakistan spy Sumaar Khan was sending information about Indian Air Force’s Operation Iron Fist war exercise, held in Pokhran, to his handlers in Pakistan.
Sumaar Khan was an employee at a petrol pump owned by Congress MLA Saleh Mohammad who has been now made a cabinet minister in Ashok Gehlot government of Rajasthan.
Jaisalmer Superintendent of Police Pankaj Choudhary had said that the state government transferred him allegedly because he had reopened the history-sheet against Gazi Fakir, father of Congress MLA Shaleh Mohammad and the disciple of Pakistan’s Sufi leader late Peer Pagara. Gazi Fakir is a prominent religious leader among Sindhi Muslims on both sides of the international border. Pankaj Choudhary had told a TV channel, “Fakir is facing charges of anti-national activities.”
The history-sheet against Ghazi Fakir was first opened on July 31, 1965 for smuggling and clandestine anti-national activities. In 1985, history-sheet file mysteriously went missing, and a fresh history sheet was opened in 1990 by then SP Sudhir Pratap Singh who too was transferred after 28 days of taking the decision. The history-sheet was “illegally” closed in May 2011 by ASP Ganpat Lal who was then acting district police chief. But later on decision was dismissed as it was not taken by an SP-level officer. And later on, Pankaj Chaudhary also paid the price for trying to reopen Fakir’s history sheet.
According to The Pioneer report, Gazi Fakir’s anti-national activities are specifically mentioned in the book titled, Pakistan’s ISI: Network of Terror in India, by Srikanta Ghosh. According to reports, Gazi Fakir is suspected to be helping the Pakistanis in trans-border activities and encouraging them to settle on the Indian side. The book also describes the influence of Gazi Fakir in politics of the region and their role in releasing the Pakistani spies arrested by local police. The book says, “In February 1984 the then Collector of Barmer district, CK Mathew had facilitated the arrest of one Mushtaq Ahmed of Burren-Ka-Tala under the National Securities Act. Though he claimed to be an Indian, he was carrying a Pakistani identity card. Subsequently it was found that he had undergone training in Lahore for espionage. When arrested Mushtaq was bold enough to assert that he could not be held for long. Sure enough, his words came true when he had to be released under pressure from top Congress (I) leaders in the region.”
His son, Saleh Mohammad was also involved in many controversies. In May 2013, he had beaten a police constable during the police’s anti-liquor mafia operations called Operation Welcome. On May 17, when police chased touts who were creating troubles for tourists and extorting money from them, they hid themselves in the petrol pump owned by Saleh Mohammad. When the police tried to catch the touts, owner of the petrol pump who was present there at that time, called police constable in his and beaten him badly.
Gazi Fakir and his son Saleh Mohammad hold a politically influential vote bank in Western Rajasthan for the Congress party, maybe that’s why the Congress party apparently provides them so much political support, and this time also awarded Saleh Mohammad politically by inducting him in the list of cabinet ministers. Saleh is loyal to Gehlot camp of the party.