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Indian Express
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Top Gujarat Congress leader arrested over Op Sindoor post: Who is Rajesh Soni?
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) general secretary Rajesh Soni, arrested for an alleged objectionable post on Operation Sindoor, belongs to a family of jewellers and is a first-generation politician, say his party colleagues. Many in the Congress refer to Soni as the go-to person for 'publicity-related tasks'. At least three top party leaders told The Indian Express that the credit for putting up maximum hoardings and billboards during Congress party events goes to him. However, according to his detractors in the party say 'his billboards would mostly be of his mentors and patrons in the party'. Soni, who is in his forties, was arrested by the Gujarat State Cyber Crime Cell on Friday under sections 152 (endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) and 353 (making, publishing or circulating statements that could lead to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) for alleged posts on his social media handles and pages that were 'demoralising for the Army', as per the FIR. Originally from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Soni joined the Congress in 2015 with his team of supporters. 'Within just a couple of years of his joining the party, he was made an All India Congress Committee (AICC) delegate. Promotions came early for him compared to other senior leaders,' said a Congress leader in the Ahmedabad city unit. He was appointed general secretary of the state unit in 2022 when former MP Jagdish Thakor was the state party president. Thakor described Soni as a person 'who did a lot of charity and was always at the forefront to help during natural calamities', while state Congress spokesperson Amit Nayak recalled how, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Soni ran a community kitchen. Former Union minister Bharatsinh Solanki, who was the state Congress president from 2015 to 2018, told The Indian Express, 'Soni holds an event every year to distribute notebooks to children and this time he invited me. I suggested that he also distribute tablets. He obliged and gave tablets to some five children.' Soni's father, a jewellery businessman from Pali in Rajasthan, came to Ahmedabad for business and the family decided to settle down in the city's Isanpur area, where Soni was born. When he was young, Soni joined his father's business. 'Later, he got into the construction business and launched his own company called Soni Corporation,' said Nayak. Soni's party colleagues said one of the reasons he was being 'targeted' because he is an 'RTI activist' and participates in television debates.'Soni is being targeted because he is a kattar agevan (staunch leader), has been in charge of the party's IT Cell earlier. He is part of our TV debate team and his appearances must have bothered the BJP government,' said Nayak. The spokesperson, who said he was also booked for his social media posts in 2023, added, 'We have decided that all top leaders of the party will repost Rajesh Soni's (alleged objectionable) post and then go to the DGP's (Director General of Police) office to court arrest.' Top Congress leaders such as state Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Amit Chavda have criticised the action against Soni and demanded immediate bail. Gohil said Friday that the Gandhinagar Police cyber crime team picked up Soni as if he were a 'terrorist'. He said Soni's post was more about giving credit to the soldiers for their bravery and saying that 'money from the public treasury should not be used for publicity and … political gains should not be taken in the name of Operation Sindoor'.
Indian Express
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Standing shoulder to shoulder with the government': Congress lauds Operation Sindoor
We are standing shoulder to shoulder with the government,' said Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Shaktisinh Gohil Wednesday while lauding the Indian Armed Forces for carrying out the missile strikes on nine terror targets, under Operation Sindoor, as a response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Gohil said that the Congress and all opposition parties were 'standing shoulder to shoulder with the government' to thwart enemies 'attempting to break the morale by using terrorism'. In a video message posted on Instagram, Gohil congratulated and hailed the Indian Army and said, 'Our soldiers protect the country at the cost of their lives. Their passion is so firm that no matter what the enemy does, the country's army gives an apt reply'. 'We pray to God that the brave soldiers of our country should be blessed and protected to fight the enemy. The strength will come from God's blessings… Those who do not have the courage to fight us straight from the front, use terrorists to attack and break the morale. But our army will deal with them,' he said. Stating that the opposition was with the government on the issue, Gohil said, 'The Congress party, in the national interest, had told the government to take strong steps after the Pahalgam attack and that there would be no politics over this'. 'The Congress party and the opposition parties are standing with the government shoulder to shoulder. Our army will continue to give apt responses to the enemies such that no one will dare to commit such crimes against the country,' he added. Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had also taken to X to post about Operation Sindoor while Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi put out a series of posts on X about the operation. Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary also posted a message stating that the operation was 'Zero Tolerance to Terror' while MP from Porbandar and Union Minister of Labour and Employment, Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya said, 'The haven of terrorists has been reduced to dust.'
