Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot defends tech team in Facebook 'likes' row

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today defended his technical team and ruled out any mischief by it in the row over allegedly buying 'likes' for his official Facebook page.

"My team has clarified to me that the 'likes' were not artificially enhanced. The allegation does not stand.

"This could be the work of those who want to create unnecessary controversy," Gehlot said, referring to BJP.

BJP has alleged that fake 'likes' were purchased for Gehlot's official 'Apka Mukhyamantri' Facebook page, which is operated by a technical team.

A BJP spokesperson claimed that the page had 1,69,077 'likes' till June 1, which shot up to 2,14,639 on June 30.

Most of the new followers who 'liked' the page were shown as belonging to the Turkish city of Istanbul although BJP claimed that earlier fans had mostly hailed from Jaipur.

The chief minister, meanwhile, said it was quite strange that he had so many fans in Turkey.

"This is strange because I have never been to Turkey. Nor do I have any relatives there, but there is popularity (for me)," Gehlot said.