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Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Gujarat Congress general secy held over post on Opration Sindoor
The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary, Rajesh Soni, was on Friday arrested by the Gujarat Police Cyber Crime Cell over an alleged objectionable social media post on Operation Sindoor, officials said even as GPCC president Shaktisinh Gohil criticised the move. According to police officials, Soni allegedly made disparaging statements about the Armed Forces in his post. Cyber Crime Cell Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Sharma told The Indian Express, 'Soni was booked under BNS Sections 152 (endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) and 353 (making, publishing or circulating statements that could lead to public mischief) for demoralising the army.' SP Sharma confirmed that earlier in the day, Soni was detained from his home in Ahmedabad and subsequently placed under arrest. He was produced before court, which then sent him to judicial custody. Demanding 'immediate bail' from Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel for 'social leader and political activist' Rajeshbhai T Soni, GPCC president Shaktisinh Gohil said, 'Last night, just like a terrorist is being caught, Rajeshbhai T Soni was arrested by Gandhinagar Cyber Crime. If we look at the post, the only thing that is clear is that the soldiers of our brave army should get credit for the bravery they have shown and the money from the public treasury should not be used for publicity and … political gains should not be taken in the name of Operation Sindoor.' Soni had uploaded around three to four posts on social media platforms on Operation Sindoor. 'This has been in the minds of all the citizens of the country that the credit for the brave work done by our army should go to them. Seeing the way the government is doing publicity, they have expressed their concern that the soldiers will not get credit. If they only raise their voice for the army or express their concern that they will not get credit, how can it be a crime?' Gohil said. He further said, 'The Supreme Court recently took note of the government's policy of filing cases through misuse of the Gujarat Police and severely criticised the police. I hope the police use wisdom…Rajeshbhai Soni is not a terrorist… he should be released immediately. The entire country and Congress are on the side of the army.' Gohil also put out his statement on the microblogging site X, saying: 'The whole country and the Congress are in favor of the army. If it is a crime to take the side of the army only, then all the Congress workers including me will post and raise their voices in favor of the army. if they have courage, then the government should put all of us in jail.' Gohil's post tagging Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi, Gujarat Police stated, 'When late Manmohan Singh ji was the Prime Minister, many BJP leaders and supporters used to write false things at will, but the Congress government at the Centre or the states did not try to curb the fundamental freedom of expression or register a case' Gohil demanded immediate bail for the political functionary.
Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Held in MGNREGA ‘scam', sons of Gujarat minister Khabad granted bail but won't get to walk out of jail for now
A court in Dahod district on Wednesday granted conditional bail to two sons of Gujarat Minister Bachubhai Khabad — Balvantsinh and Kiran — who were arrested in an alleged scam of Rs 71 crore, stemming from works carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The state government has decided to appeal against the bail order on Thursday, top officials of Dahod district administration confirmed. The Khabad brothers, meanwhile, will continue to remain in judicial custody until the hearing of the appeal on Thursday, they added on condition of anonymity. The court granted Balvantsinh and Kiran regular bail in the case of the alleged MGNREGA scam unearthed in the villages of Devgarh Baria and Dhanpur district. Advocate A R Chauhan, representing the Khabad brothers, told The Indian Express that the court had granted regular bail on a surety of Rs 50,000 and with condition to cooperate in further investigation. While Balvantsinh was arrested on May 17, Kiran was held on May 19. Chauhan said, 'We argued on the grounds that the firms (of Balvantsinh and Kiran) were involved in supplying material and did not have a contract to complete the work on the ground. Their liability cannot be made out in the case of non-completion of MGNREGA projects as they only supplied the material, and it was not their job to see if the material was used for completing the roads or not. The court considered the argument and also the fact that they had been arrested and subjected to questioning during the police remand.' On the state government preparing to challenge the bail order, an official said, 'We have been granted a day's time to challenge the bail order. We will seek a stay on the bail order on Thursday.' Meanwhile, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) termed the 'sidelining' of Khabad as an 'eyewash' by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Dr Manish Doshi, GPCC Spokesperson, told this newspaper, 'Sidelining Khabad from two events is a face-saving exercise by the BJP… Whenever someone is caught in the middle of party-backed corruption, they indulge in a hogwash by sidelining the person concerned for a brief period. The BJP has an absolute majority. What is stopping them from demanding Khabad's resignation or removing him from the cabinet? If they are indeed embarrassed, they should have him resign.' Notably, Khabad was conspicuous by his absence during an event in Dahod on Monday, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a 9000 HP Locomotive Rolling Stock Workshop, built by the Ministry of Railways, besides other development projects in the state. Doshi further said, 'This (MGNREGA issue) is only one case in Dahod… in most districts, such scams abound and investigations have not taken place in many of them. If other cases are also investigated, Khabad's links would be found there, too. It is the BJP's policy to promote people who indulge in corruption…'
