JAIPUR: Congress MLA Rajendra Singh Gudha, who was dismissed from the Rajasthan cabinet on July 21, after he claimed that he had in his possession a 'red diary' which contained incriminating material and details of irregular financial transactions by Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Sunday.

Addressing a gathering in his assembly constituency of Udaipurwati, in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district in the presence of Sena chief and Maharashtra CM Shinde, Gudha who formerly held the position of minister of state for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development in Rajasthan said that he was punished for telling the truth.

Praising Gudha while welcoming him into his Sena faction, Shinde said that the former state minister was sacked because he spoke out about women’s safety and the law and order situation and there was nothing wrong in what he said. Shinde said that Rajasthan needed improved law and order, safety for women, job opportunities for youths and betterment of farmer's condition in the state.

Shinde said that Rajasthan was lagging behind in the development of industry because of which the youths of the state are forced to migrate to other states in search of jobs. He said that there was huge potential in sectors like mining, which could be used to create employment opportunities for local youths. 

In July this year, Ghuda created a big political stir and he made headlines when he brought a so-called Lal Diary (red diary) into the state assembly and claimed that this diary had details of illegal financial transactions made by Gehlot and his close ones during the political crisis of the Gehlot government and the elections of the Rajasthan Cricket Association. 

Initially, he released some pages of this diary in the media but later on he did not pursue this or produce more evidence of the same. The opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party caught on the the issue and has been accusing Gehlot of rampant corruption. 

Ghuda who was formerly in the Bahujan Samaj Party before he joined Congress, was sacked by Gehlot after he drew parallels between the sexual violence in Manipur and alleged atrocities against women in the State.

After switching camps in late 2022 Ghuda who was known to be a loyalist of Gehlot later started backing Sachin Pilot, deputy CM of Rajasthan and also president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, considering that the Congress high command was going to give an important responsibility to Pilot.