Ahmedabad, March 18 (IANS) The Gujarat Congress Wednesday expressed surprise over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) choosing four candidates having criminal backgrounds for the Lok Sabha polls from the state.
“The four candidates chosen by BJP, namely C.R. Patil, Bhavsinh Rathod, Prabhatsinh Chauhan and Deepak Sathi, are facing serious criminal charges for crimes such as bootlegging, fraud, drug trafficking and hooliganism in the state,” Congress spokesperson for Gujarat, Arjun Modhvadia, told reporters.
He said that Deepak Sathi, BJP candidate for Anand, had spent a month in prison for defrauding the Charothar Sahakari Bank in Anand by siphoning off Rs.85 crore (Rs.850 million) worth of savings deposits, while C.R. Patil, candidate for Navsari, was jailed for involvement in a Rs.90 crore (Rs.900 million) fraud committed at the Surat Diamond Jubilee Bank. The other two – Prabhatsinh Chauhan (Panchmahals) and Bhavsinh Rathod (Patan seat) – are facing charges for crimes such as bootlegging and drug trafficking, respectively.
Taking a swipe at the BJP’s slogan ‘Party With a Difference’ for the Lok Sabha polls, Modhwadia said it is now proven by the fact that it has four candidates in Gujarat who are facing serious criminal charges.
He said the BJP in Gujarat has fielded people with criminal backgrounds in the Lok Sabha polls while senior and experienced leaders and former union ministers such as Kashiram Rana and Vallabh Kathiria have been neglected.