union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday charged the Congress with trying to save fugitive jeweller and designer Nirav Modi and his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi, both key accused in a massive banking fraud in India.
Diamond trader Modi and Choksi allegedly siphoned off over Rs 10,000 crore from the Punjab National Bank with fraudulent letter issued by the bank. Modi and his relatives escaped India in early 2018, when BJP was in the saddle at the Centre.
Senior BJP leader alleged that Congress leader and retired Mumbai High Court judge, Abhay Thipsay, was trying to "influence the judicial process" in the United Kingdom where Modi unergoing an extradition trial.
Prasad alleged that Modi was always a favourite of the Congress and got all benefits before the BJP government came to the power.
“Congress has always tried to save Nirav Modi or Mehul Choksi. Now that he (Nirav Modi) has been arrested and extradition proceedings against him is underway, a Congress member who is a retired judge himself (Abhay Thipsay), is defending him in the court,” the Minister said.
Addressing a video press conference, Prasad said the retired Mumbai High Court judge, Thipsay, appeared on behalf of the PNB scam-tainted Modi as a 'defence witness' on saying that there was no case against the businessman and it cannot stand the scrutiny of the court. Prasad said his party condemns this stand of the Congress.
"There is no case against Nirav Modi, neither fraudulent nor cheating case would stand the scrutiny of law in an Indian court," argued Thipsay Wednesday before the court, the Minister cited him as saying.