Ahmedabad: Even as the ruling BJP on Saturday sought to make political capital out of the Gujarat Special Investigation Team (SIT)’s court affidavit that Teesta Setalvad took Rs 30 lakh from veteran Congress leader, the late Ahmed Patel, the Congress party and Patel’s daughter Mumtaz Patel have slammed the agencies for not initiating any action against her father till 2020 and now were cooking up new stories.
The 12-page affidavit filed on Friday evening by the newly-set up SIT after the arrest of Setalvad and two former Gujarat IPS officials in response to a Supreme Court alleges that a conspiracy was hatched way back in 2001-02 to destabilize the then Narendra Modi Government in Gujarat.
Special Prosecutor Amit Patel presented the affidavit accusing human rights activist Teesta Setalvad, who fought many cases for the post-Godhra riot victims, of asking for adjuring money and taking financial advantages, especially from the late Ahmed Patel. The affidavit states that Ahmed Patel lent Rs 30 lakh in two tranches of Rs 25 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.
Reacting strongly, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh rejected all the allegations regarding Setalvad and accused the then Gujarat Government of its failure to prevent the riots that took about 2,000 lives.
Ahmed Patel’s daughter Mumtaz Patel responded by tweeting: “I guess his name @ahmedpatel still holds weight to be used for political conspiracies to malign the opposition. Why during UPA years @teestasetalvad was not rewarded and made Rajya Sabha member and why the Centre uptill 2020 did not prosecute my father for hatching such a big conspiracy?”
Setalvad, retired DGP RB Sreekumar, and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt are under custody of Gujarat Police for allegedly forging evidence and conspiracy in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Teesta Setalvad has filed a plea for bail in Ahmedabad’s Civil Court. However, the SIT filed an affidavit against Teesta’s bail plea on July 15.
The affidavit claims that Setalvad has been working on this conspiracy right from the beginning. She met the late Ahmed Patel a few days after the Godhra riots in 2002 to take Rs 5 lakh. Later, she met him again at the Government Circuit House in Shahibaug in Ahmedabad, where she received another Rs 25 lakh on Patel’s instructions. According to the report, the money was not for any relief.
The affidavit also claimed that Setalvad had sought financial favours from a political party to implicate officials of Gujarat State.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Congress chief Sonia Gandhi of making “Teesta Setalvad a member of her kitchen cabinet.” He also alleged that Sonia Gandhi was spreading hatred against the Modi government, awarded Teesta Setalvad with the Padma Shri and made her a consulting team member for doing the same.
The SIT also claimed that Teesta was used as a tool for making things politically difficult for senior leaders. The SIT has requested the bench not to grant her bail as she may threaten the witnesses or tamper with the evidence. The decision on her bail is expected on Monday.
