Dotasra, Kirori spar over Sikar assault case; minister offers to resign if corruption charges proven

Jaipur: A political war of words has erupted between PCC president Govind Singh Dotasra and agriculture minister Kirori Lal Meena over the recent assault on agriculture department employees in Sikar, with both leaders trading allegations over the controversial incident.

Dotasra questioned the credibility of the Agriculture Department’s enforcement actions, alleging that officials involved in raids were themselves engaged in “commission-taking” and extortion. In a post on X, he accused the govt of allowing a system where raids are followed by alleged settlements and demanded action against officials accused of blackmail and corruption.

Responding sharply, Meena challenged Dotasra to prove any corruption charges against him, saying he would resign as minister if even a single allegation was substantiated. He maintained that the department’s team acted honestly against fake seed operators and accused Dotasra of making baseless allegations while indirectly siding with those who attacked govt officials.

The minister said that under “Operation Decoy” on May 26, officials seized a large quantity of fungus-affected fake groundnut seeds from establishments in Sikar and Govindgarh and initiated legal action. He alleged that members of the decoy team were later assaulted by 20-25 people after being lured to a location by seed traders.

The controversy deepened after a seed trader accused two agriculture officials of posing as the minister’s OSDs and demanding Rs 20 lakh to avoid a raid. Police investigations into the competing allegations are under way.