If a Constable taking Rs100 is removed from post, how is Bachhu Khabad still a cabinet minister: AAP's Isudan Gadhvi
Calling the Rs71 crore MGNREGA scam case filed against the sons and nephew of Gujarat Cabinet minister Bachhu Khabad just the tip of the iceberg, and saying it could go up to several hundred crores, Isudan Gadhvi, the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat on Wednesday asked how the Panchayat Minister, whose family members had carried out a financial scam in his own department, was still in the state cabinet and had not been asked to step down even as the action against his family members had come from the Gujarat Police itself.
Gadhvi asked, 'If a Police Constable taking a bribe of Rs100 is removed from service, how is Bachhu Khabad still a cabinet minister?'
'All his family members have looted Gujarat and so we demand he be removed as a minister and be investigated himself. When the panchayat minister himself is at his post and his family are under investigation, which officers will carry out an impartial investigation?' asked Gadhvi.
Speaking at a press conference in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, Gadhvi further said, 'We also believe that the MGNREGA scheme scam is on the statewide scale. All of the money is coming into the scheme, is for giving 100 days employment to the poor. The ministers of BJP, various officials and the panchayat minister himself are involved in this scam. This should be investigated across the state. We will keep protesting till Khabad does not resign.'
Gadhvi also dragged the Congress party into the scam, a development that came after Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil on April 18 said that they would contest the assembly by-elections for Visavadar and Kadi assembly seats solo and not in alliance with AAP.
This development was highly surprising for everyone, especially for AAP, who have, since the beginning of their campaign for the Visavadar-Bhesan assembly seat in Junagadh, reiterated time and again that they hoped and believed that the Congress would stand by their understanding of not fielding a candidate in Visavadar by-election since the AAP had adhered to a previously struck bargain of not fielding it's candidates in the by-election for the Vav Assembly seat held in November 2024.
In fact, this claim of an 'understanding' between the AAP and Congress over the Visavadar-Bhesan seat, a very important constituency for the two INDIA alliance partners since it was the constituency of Gujarat's former BJP CM Keshubhai Patel, has been reiterated ever since AAP's Gopal Italia announced his nomination for the seat on March 24, 2025.
Speaking on this development, Isudan Gadhvi said, 'When the by-election came, AAP refrained from fielding candidates in Manavadar, Khambhat and Vijapur and then subsequently in Vav as well because We thought the Congress would have a better chance of defeating the BJP. But today it appears a big Congress leader from Saurashtra and his company are involved in the MGNREGA scam. Perhaps that is why they have conspired to field a candidate in Visavadar by-election.'
Calling the Congress move highly suspect, Gadhvi also mentioned the understanding between the two parties regarding the Vav and Visavadar by-elections.
A Congress leader told the Indian Express that it was Shaktisinh Gohil and Tushar Chaudhary of their party who had initially investigated the 'MGNREGA scam' and then written to CM Bhupendra Patel to take action in the MGNREGA scam.
The Indian Express also spoke to Dr Manish Doshi, spokesperson of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC), regarding the allegations made by AAP. He said, 'If the AAP really want to do some work, they shouldn't do politics on the matter and rather ask questions of the BJP government. You want support from the Congress but also make allegations on it.'
When asked whether there was an understanding between the two parties with regards to the Vav and Visavadar seats, Dr Doshi said, 'Whenever there is an understanding, you have to discuss candidates. You cannot just unilaterally announce a candidate and then ask the Congress to support you.'
Notably, since Keshubhai Patel left the BJP and won the Visavadar seat from his newly-formed GPP in 2012, the seat has never been won back by the BJP. While Harshadkumar Ribadiya won the by-election of 2014 that was prompted by Keshubhai's resignation on health grounds, and then again in 2017, the seat was then won by Bhupendra (Bhupat) Bhayani of AAP in 2022. The current by-election was necessitated after Bhayani left AAP and joined the BJP in 2023.
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