In an event that is going to badly disturb the Congress and expose it in the open, fugitive Mehul Choksi’s lawyer, David Dorsett, has argued that since Choksi had a loose alliance with the Congress he is being targeted for that. This comes a day after Antiguan Foreign Minister paved the way for Choksi’s extradition to India. In such a background, his lawyer is suggesting that this is a case of political witch-hunt. Talking to the Republic TV, his lawyer confirmed that Mehul Choksi “had a loose alliance with Congress” which “inflamed” the situation. Dorsett also alleged that “there are serious political elements involved” in the case.
Choksi’s lawyer further elaborated and said that, “Well, he has a nephew who also appears to be a person, a scapegoat. The authorities are trying to pin this matter for him. There is a very serious political element that is involved in this whole matter and it is not just a bank that has collapsed. In India, the political climate is heated up in a very serious way. I mean to understand the elections particularly at a national level that are going to be held in early part of next year. Basically, the politicians are in splints right now. They are trying to carry as much popular support as they can and the situation with Mehul Choksi has to be seen in that context.” Dorsett further stated that Mehul Choksi was an ordinary businessman and also had some kind of a loose alliance with the Congress that is now the opposition party. Therefore, some kind of difference has emerged between the government and Choksi. Choksi’s lawyer further added that Choksi was a regional political activist having some kind of a loose alliance with the INC that must have inflamed the current situation.
This raises serious questions as far as INC link with the economic offender is concerned. This claim does not appear to be without substance especially because Rs. 1,550 crores had been doled out in the form of a loan by a public sector bank to Choksi during the UPA tenure. According to the PNB Managing Director, Sunil Mehta, the “Choksi fraud” began in 2011, i.e., when the UPA government was in the middle of its tenure. This is not the only reason suggesting Congress-Choksi link. It has been reported that UPA government went slow in the case and several whistleblowers even cautioned the finance ministry but their complaints fell on deaf ears. Moreover, then Nominated Director of Allahabad Bank Dinesh Dubey and former MD of Choksi’s company Srivastav had both given their versions of a Congress-Choksi link. This was further corroborated by the reports that Choksi’s lawyer got an election ticket from the Congress party in the Karnataka 2018 assembly elections. This strongly suggests that the Congress might have been involved with Choksi and might have also been shielding him.
The Congress president Rahul Gandhi time and again insinuates prime minister Modi of being involved with various economic offender without any evidence or even grounds of mere suspicion but now strong evidence of Congress-Choksi link have emerged and the Congress cannot keep quiet about it. The Modi government must make sure that this link is investigated and the offenders get punished.
