The BJP has blasted the CBI for implicating senior Rajasthan leader Gulab Chand Kataria in the Sohrabuddin encounter case, and revealed that the probe agency wanted to arrest former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah in the same case, in order to frame CM Narendra Modi in 2010.
Hinting at a deeper conspiracy behind the CBI move, BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior leader Arun Jaitley asserted that the CBI’s second proposal to arrest Shah clearly showed that Modi was the real target of the probe agency.
Jaitley produced a copy of the CBI’s proposal for the arrest of Shah that the officers had sent to their high-ups. It read: “Request to refer again to Annexure-A, B &. C of the arrest proposal dated 14.4.2010, especially underline the importance of Annexure C for its potential in respect of the Chief Minister (Modi) also.”
The BJP’s hard-hitting attack on the CBI came a day after the agency filed a supplementary charge sheet in the Sohrabuddin case and included the name of former Rajasthan Home Minister Kataria.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that the State unit will stand behind Kataria and launch a State-wide agitation.
“The CBI charge sheet against Gulab Chand Kataria is without any basis. Kataria, besides being a senior leader of the party, is known for his propriety and credibility. There is not a shred of evidence against him. This case is being pursued by the CBI with the intention of implicating senior BJP leaders, at the behest of the Congress party,” BJP chief Rajnath Singh said.
The BJP has alleged political vendetta behind the CBI’s action against Kataria and vowed to fight back, both legally and politically. BJP leaders also said that the more CBI will be misused against it, the more it will benefit the party.
Rajnath Singh said bail granted to Amit Shah by the trial court was confirmed right till the Supreme Court.
“It appears from media reports that the fictional story of conspiracy against Shah did not hold together and a new fictional story has now been concocted as to how the two senior BJP leaders got the encounter engineered at the behest of some marble traders. It appears that the CBI’s case of conspiracy has more than one version. Fortunately, the truth can have only one version,” Singh said.
Jaitley claimed that the CBI’s decision to arrest another Rajasthan BJP leader Rajendra Singh Rathod boomeranged on the investigating agency for want of evidence. Even in that case, the CBI decided to arrest him despite an adverse opinion by Attorney General GE Vahanvati.
“I agree with the opinion of the Additional Director, CBI which has been approved by the Director, CBI that more evidence should be collected regarding the alleged involvement of Rajendra Singh Rathore, and thereafter it may be considered whether he should be joined as an accused or not,” Jaitley quoted Vahanvati as saying.
The BJP drew a parallel between these two cases involving its leaders and the ongoing investigation in Railgate.
The Opposition party blasted the CBI chief for jumping the gun and telling the media that there was no evidence against Congress leader Pawan Bansal even before he had been interrogated and the investigation was completed.
“Evidence against the former Railway Minister is 100 times more, yet the agency is going soft on him,” Jaitley said.
BJP rubbished CBI charges that Sohrabuddin was killed in an encounter at Shah’s behest to help marble traders who were facing extortion threats from him.
Jaitley termed the probes into the cases involving Shah, Kataria and Rathore as shoddy and having several contradictions.
“There is a question mark on the honesty and professionalism of this organisation and the country will have to think about it,” Jaitley said.
Dismissing the GoM on making CBI independent of any political interference as eyewash, Jaitley said the discussion on the issue is over and the Select Committee of Parliament has given its recommendations which were also approved by the Cabinet.
He said the lokpal Bill has a schedule on giving more autonomy to the CBI and suggestion for amending the Delhi Police Establishment Act. “There is no need to start it again from the beginning. The discussion has ended,” he said.