Arrest of Gujarat BJP MP gives Congress fodder against Modi

The arrest of a Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament in connection with the murder of a Right to Information activist in Gujarat may have given the Congress an unexpected and potent weapon against the BJP's prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. While the BJP will not surprisingly call it a political conspiracy, the arrest provides ample fodder for the Congress to not only demand party action against the arrested Parliamentarian but also once again raise doubts on Modi's claims of impeccable law and order machinery in the state. Two BJP leaders have been arrested by the CBI in recent years. AFP The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested Dinu Bogha Solanki of the Bharatiya Janata Party after questioning him in connection with the murder of Amit Jethwa. The Parliamentarian from Junagarh was arrested in Delhi where he will be produced in court on Wednesday and then later taken to Gujarat. The fact that the CBI found evidence against Solanki after the Gujarat police gave him a clean chit is certain to be used by the Congress to hit out against Modi. The continuance of Gujarat minister Babubhai Bokhariya even after his conviction by a sessions court in a case of illegal mining provides more fodder. Solanki is now the second BJP leader from Gujarat to be arrested by the CBI in recent years. Former state home minister Amit Shah, a close associate of Narendra Modi, was earlier arrested in connection with extra judicial killings in Gujarat. The CBI action comes after a Gujarat High Court order to register a case after Jethwa's father Bhikabhai approached the court alleging inaction and collusion by the state police in protecting Solanki. According to a report in DNA, the court had said the probe in the case was "far from fair, independent, bona fide or prompt". Reports said the CBI found inconsistencies in Solanki's replies, apart from other circumstantial evidence. He was arrested after over eight hours of questioning. Jethwa, a Right to Information (RTI) activist, had filed RTI applications about mining in Gir forest and had also filed a PIL against such illegal mining. He was shot dead outside the Gujarat High Court on 20 July 2010, leading to an uproar among RTI activists demanding a law to protect whistleblowers. Only a month before his killing, Jethwa's complaint had led to a raid by officials and the seizure of some mining equipment, but little action followed. According to a report in The Indian Express, the Gujarat Police had earlier arrested Shiva Solanki, nephew of the BJP MP, among the six men arrested. Jethwa's family claimed that the MP was involved in the conspiracy to kill Jethwa.




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