The Congress on Saturday refuted the "mischievous charges" against late Ahmed Patel and said the prime minister's political vendetta does not even spare the departed who were his political adversaries. The SIT which is probing Teesta Setalvad's role among others in the case of criminal conspiracy and forgery said Teesta Setalvad had received money from Ahmad Patel and was enacting a larger conspiracy to destabilise the Gujarat government soon after the 2002 Gujarat riot.
The SIT in its affidavit said Setalvad held meetings with Ahmed Patel and received ₹5 lakh at the first instance from a witness on the instructions of the Congress leader. She received ₹25 lakh more two days later, again at the behest of Patel, the SIT said.
Strongly refuting the charges, the Congress issued a statement and said, "This is part of Prime Minister's systematic strategy to absolve himself of any responsibility for the communal carnage unleashed when he was chief minister in 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."
"This SIT is dancing to the tune of its political master and will sit whatever it is told to. We know how an earlier SIT chief was rewarded with a diplomatic assignment afyter he had given a clean chit to the chief minister," the Congress statement said.
{{/usCountry}}"This SIT is dancing to the tune of its political master and will sit whatever it is told to. We know how an earlier SIT chief was rewarded with a diplomatic assignment afyter he had given a clean chit to the chief minister," the Congress statement said.
{{/usCountry}}"Giving judgment through press, in an ongoing judicial process, through puppet investigative agencies who trumped wild allegations as supposed findings, has been the hallmark of the Modi-Shah duo's tactics for years. This is nothing but another example of the same, with the added object of vilifying a deceased person since he is obviously unable and unavailable to refute such brazen lies," the statement said.
The BJP on Saturday stepped up the attack on Congress over the issue. Addressing a press conference, Sambit patra said Sonia Gandhi must provide answers. "Ahmed Patel is just a name,driving force was his boss Sonia Gandhi. Through her Chief Political Advisor Ahmed Patel, Sonia Gandhi attempted to malign Gujarat's image. Through him,she attempted to insult Narendra Modi &she was architect of this entire conspiracy," Sambit Patra said.