Gujarat Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani on Friday night had accused the political advisor of Sonia Gandhi a Congress Gujarat MP, Ahmed Patel to have links with suspected Islamic State member Kasim Steamerwala, 31 who was arrested last Wednesday by the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Gujarat Police and demanded that the MP resign from his Rajya Sabha seat.
Responding to comments made by the Gujarat Chief Minister, Congress on Saturday, defending the Congress MP said that BJP was making baseless allegations. Gujarat Congress in charge, Ashok Gehlot on Friday tweeted that the CM was making baseless allegations as the BJP feared defeat in the upcoming assembly elections.
#Gujarat CM is putting baseless allegations, fearing defeat in polls. Politicization of matters of national security is strongly condemnable
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) October 27, 2017
He also accused BJP of disrupting the peace of Gujarat and deliberately putting fear in the minds of the people. Ashok Gehlot further added that the by making such allegations against the Congress leader clearly indicates that BJP is playing divisive politics to defame the Congress leader. “The charges are extremely painful for every Gujarati,” he added.
BJP is trying to put fear in mind people of Gujarat. Guj hs bn peace loving state n congress is committed to ensure peaceful n secured Guj.
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) October 27, 2017
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also alleged that the BJP was dlibrately playing conspiracy against Ahmed Patel and has asked the party to look inwards. Defending the Congress leader, Surjewala said that “Sardar Patel Hospital is a charitable hospital in which 150-200 employees work. Neither Ahmed Patel nor any of his family members is a trustee of the hospital. They also don’t hold any office of profit in the hospital.”
He also sought probe against the suspected terrorist by the Anti-terrorist squad if it had the evidence.
Meanwhile, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is a statement to the press on Saturday alleged that now the Congress is being associated with having terrorist links, the party should give explaination on this. “The Congress must come clean, or else the blot on them will be larger than that for corruption,”he said.
Defending BJP government, Naqvi said that the government was not putting any baseless allegations on Patel, rather he records and the facts is pointing out his links with the terrorists. “We are not doing any politics on the issue. Terrorism is bigger than corruption,” he added.
Further attacking the Congress he demanded and explaination on the matter from Congress high command Sonia Gandhi and party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. He also waned that the till now Congress was only being associated with corruotion, but if the party does not come clean on this, soon sorruption will be sustituted with terrorism.
Other than BJP and Congress debating on the matter, JD(U) faction led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also demanded free and fair investigation regarding the connections of Ahmed Patel with the suspected terrorist. JD(U) spokeserson KC Tyagi in his ststement to the press said that “The allegations against Ahmed Patel has been made by the Chief Minister of the state, which are very serious in nature. So we demand a free and fair probe.”
He further added that the law must take strict action, if the allegations have any truth to it. “On the issue of national security, we are very straight that there will be no compromise with it. Let the law take its own course. If anyone is found guilty then he should be punished,” Tyagi said.