Modi trying to take revenge by using a dead man’s name
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Gujarat police on Friday, while opposing the bail plea of social activist Teesta Setalvad, told the Supreme Court that she was a part of a “larger conspiracy” by Congress veteran Ahmed Patel against then-chief minister Narendra Modi.
Citing statements of a witness, the SIT in its affidavit said that Teesta Setalvad had received Rs 30 lakh after the post-Godhra riots in 2002 at the behest of Ahmed Patel.
The social activist, along with former Gujarat director-general of police RB Sreekumar, were earlier this month sent to judicial custody for 14 days on the order of the Supreme Court, after it observed, in a ruling absolving Narendra Modi of any responsibility for the 2002 Gujarat riots, that that “wanted to keep the pot boiling for ulterior design”.
Reacting to the SIT’s charge, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh released a statement saying that the allegations against Ahmed Patel were a “part of the Prime Minister’s systematic strategy to absolve himself of any responsibility for the communal carnage unleashed when he was chief minister of Gujarat in 2002”.
The statement added that the “Prime Minister’s political vendetta machine clearly does not even spare the departed who were his political adversaries”.
Ahmed Patel’s daughter Mumtaz Patel also dismissed the probe team’s claim, tweeting that the allegation simply proves that the “name @ahmedpatel still holds weight to be used for political conspiracies to malign d opposition”.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra though said that “Ahmed Patel is just a name”, and that “the driving force was his boss Sonia Gandhi”, who, “through him”, “attempted to insult Narendra Modi and she was the architect of this entire conspiracy”.
Political analysts claim that this allegation against Patel is a reprehensible tactic by the Modi government because the person concerned is no longer around to defend himself.
It may be noted that Teesta Setalvad is famous for helping, through her NGO, numerous victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots, giving them both material help and legal help.
It may also be noted that the Gujarat elections are scheduled to be held at the end of this year and many are thinking this latest salvo against a Congress veteran is simply a tactic to help in electoral victory by polarising the electorate.
