Congress spokesperson calls for registration of FIR against the Gujarat BJP and investigation into allegations of bribery under a sitting judge of the Gujarat High Court.
NEW DELHI (IANS) — A day after Patidar leader from north Gujarat Narendra Patel alleged that the BJP tried to buy him, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday took on the ruling party, saying Gujarat is priceless and can never be bought.
“Gujarat is priceless. It has never been bought. It can never be bought. It will never be bought,” Gandhi said in a tweet.
Narendra Patel had alleged that Patidar leader Varun Patel, who joined the BJP on Saturday evening, took him to meet Gujarat BJP President Jitubhai Vaghani and other leaders on Sunday, who offered him Rs 1 crore to join the BJP.
Narendra Patel said he was handed over a bag of Rs 10 lakh cash as token and promised he would be paid Rs 90 lakh later.
Read : BJP OFFERED ME ₹1 CRORE TO JOIN IT, ALLEGES PATIDAR LEADER NARENDRA PATEL
Narendra Patel is the convenor of North Gujarat, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), of Hardik Patel.
Congress seeks court-monitored probe
The Congress on Monday demanded a court-monitored probe into allegations by a Patidar leader from North Gujarat that he was paid Rs 1 crore to join the BJP.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said Narendra Patel, who belongs to the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) led by Hardik Patel, had said that the BJP attempted “to purchase him for Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 lakh was paid in advance”.
Tewari said the allegations of bribery were “very serious” and said Narendra Patel had said Gujarat BJP President Jitubhai Vaghani was the culprit.
“It calls for reaction from the Prime Minister and the BJP President. It calls for registration of FIR against the Gujarat BJP. It calls for investigation under a sitting judge of the Gujarat High Court. If this is not checked, the sanctity of the election process in Gujarat in times to come will be questioned,” Tewari said.
He said it was incumbent on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to investigate the allegations as these were being levelled against his own party leaders.
Tewari also accused the BJP of trying to “break” people-led movements opposed to BJP rule in Gujarat.
“Why is the BJP trying to coerce, lure, allegedly bribe the leaders of this movement and trying to break it? Isn’t this a clear sign of their frustration? Isn’t this a clear manifestation of their demoralisation?” he asked.
Tewari said another Patel leader, Nikhil Sawani, had quit the BJP within days of joining it.
