By IANS,
New Delhi: The Congress Sunday alleged Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were making a “scapegoat” of former state home minister Amit Shah, charged with involvement in the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a staged shoot-out, to deflect attention from Modi.
“Amit Shah and Modi saying that CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) is being used as a political tool is an illogical defence mechanism. Ultimately the court will ask certain uncomfortable questions and the investigations will lead to Modi. Modi and the BJP are trying to create a block here and are making Amit Shah the scapegoat,” Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told IANS.
Another party spokesman, Manish Tewari, appearing on Times Now, accused Amit Shah and the BJP of not having read the affidavit filed by the state, adding “they are advised to read the affidavit (submitted in 2007 by Inspector General of Police Geeta Johri) before shooting their mouth off… why not speak in defence to the investigating agency instead of going public while absconding”?
Shah, who was missing since Thursday, surfaced dramatically at a press conference of Gujarat BJP state chief R.C. Fardu in Ahmedabad in the morning and said the allegations against him were fabricated.
The ex-minister, who has been chargesheeted by the CBI, said he was being framed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in New Delhi in a desperate bid to “counter” the Narendra Modi government.
“The accusations against me are fabricated, politically motivated and framed on the behest of the Congress government,” Shah told reporters, before leaving from the CBI camp office to give himself up. He was later sent to 14 days judicial custody.
Shah submitted his resignation to Narendra Modi Saturday.