CBI detained Premal Modi, PA of a minister in the Gujarat government on Tuesday night. The move is being seen as the central command’s bid to tighten the leash around the Bhupendra Patel-led Gujarat BJP government. The state administration has been going through its own downs with names of top state leaders appearing in the various scams that have hit Gujarat in recent times. Additionally, some ministers who chose to exercise their own will were “cut to size” by the party’s higher functionaries.
A case in point is the recent and sudden move which stripped Rajendra Trivedi of the Revenue portfolio while Purnesh Modi lost the Road and Building department. A source said: “BJP leaders in Delhi got whiff of these ministers compromising with Muslim leaders in their constituency. Hence, their fate.”
Tuesday evening saw officers from the central agency’s state arm detain the PA of a top cabinet-level minister. The PA Premal Modi was notorious for corruption and brokerage within different government departments. The PA, Premal Modi, is supposed to know more about “a letter of settlement made by BJP ministers.” Hailing from Vadodara, Premal Modi is a BJP karyakarta.
In the context of this arrest, it is widely believed that there is more than what meets the eye in the recent scrapping of portfolios of two ministers from the Gujarat government. There must be very compelling reasons for the BJP high command to take such a drastic and politically delicate step, just a few weeks ahead of a very important poll.
Adding further, the insider shared: “In this case, not only is there a questionable nexus between the minister and non-allied BJP interests but also financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 125 crore. Top names are expected to tumble out in the days to come.”
Also Read: Two Gujarat Ministers stripped of their portfolios just less than 100 days before Assembly elections
