After the Gujarat Police’s SIT report, citing a witness’ statement, claimed that Congress leader late Ahmed Patel, the political consultant of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, allegedly gave ₹30 Lakh to Tista Setalvad in the 2002 Gujarat Riots, the war of words has started between the BJP and the Congress party.
Ms. Tista Setalvad is amongst the two people who have been recently detained by the Ahmedabad Police’s crime branch on suspicion of plotting to falsely implicate individuals to the Gujarat Riots of 2002.
According to an affidavit submitted by the police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) before the sessions court, Tista was a part of a “bigger conspiracy” to overthrow the BJP government in the state after the 2002 riots at the behest of the late Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel, the then political consultant to Congress president Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress Party has refused the charges on late Ahmed Patel. In a tweet, the Country party shared party MP Jairam Ramesh’s statement in a letter.
“Statement Issued by @Jairam_Ramesh, General Secretary In- Charge, Communications, AICC.”
Jairam Ramesh’s statement reads:
“The Indian National Congress categorically refutes the mischievous charges manufactured against the late Shri Ahmed Patel. This is 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. It was his unwillingness and incapacity to control this carnage that had led the-then Prime Minister of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee to remind the chief minister of his rajdharma.”
While the BJP is lashing out at the grand-old-party, questioning Sonia Gandhi to answer on this “larger conspiracy” of Tista Setalvad, the Congress party is defending itself, claiming that the SIT and government agencies are dancing on the tunes of the ruling party.
