In response to the Congress press meet and subsequent media reporting about the alleged Rs 500 crore scam in the Sahara Affordable Homes Project in Rajkot, the BJP has claimed false charges and slapped the Opposition party with a legal notice. Confirming the same on Tuesday, state Congress chief whip, C.J. Chavda, told Vibes of India: “We have received the notice which demands a public apology within 15 days or be faced with a defamation suit. We will stick to our stand because we have proof of the fraud. There is no question of an apology. We have substantial proof given by the RTI.”
The notice has been undersigned by former chief minister Vijay Rupani and BJP leader Nitin Bharadwaj. The Congress had alleged that the duo worked “hand in hand with Sahara India Home Corporation and influenced Rajkot Urban Development Authority (RUDA) to transfer the zoning of the 111 acres of land in question, from residential to industrial to benefit the Sahara Group.”
The notice has been sent to Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Gujarat Assembly Sukhram Rathva, deputy LoP Shailesh Parmar and CJ Chavda. The allegations have been labelled baseless and malicious.
Responding to the allegations earlier, Vijay Rupani tweeted a three-page reply asserting that Congress is campaigning to malign his image. He further said that the alleged land value is around Rs 75 crores. “We have not misappropriated even Rs 5,” the tweet noted. When contacted, BJP leader Nitin Bharadwaj and his advocate, Ansh Bharadwaj, briefed that “an official response from the Congress is awaited before the next step.”
Interestingly, the Gujarat Congress, on Monday held another press meet to soon unravel the “BJP’s hand in scams worth Rs 1000 crore, Rs 10,000 crore, Rs 50,000 crore and Rs 1,00,000 crore.”
