Patel, on Monday, deposed before the court for the third day for cross-examination in connection with an election petition by Rajput challenging his Rajya Sabha poll victory.
Congress veteran Ahmed Patel has submitted before the Gujarat High Court that it is the BJP and its leader Balvantsinh Rajput who used "undue influence and pressure" resulting in the resignation of six Congress MLAs just before the August 2017 Rajya Sabha elections, with eight Congress MLAs cross voting in the polls. Patel, on Monday, deposed before the court for the third day for cross-examination in connection with an election petition by Rajput challenging his Rajya Sabha poll victory.
Additional solicitor general Satya Pal Jain, who appeared as a counsel for Rajput, questioned Patel on the latter using undue influence and pressure on Congress MLAs so that they vote in his favour in the election. This was refuted by Patel, who blamed the BJP for resignation of Congress MLAs and cross voting in the election.
Jain also questioned about the Bengaluru trip of Gujarat Congress MLAs where they were taken to a resort and kept together just before the Rajya Sabha polls. Patel was also questioned on the stay of MLAs at Anand on August 7, a day before the voting.
Interestingly, Patel said he had no idea about the MLAs being taken to Bengaluru and he came to know about it from newspapers the next day. He said he spoke to Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Bharatsinh Solanki about the same and even told him that there was no need for such an action and he had full faith on his MLAs. He also clarified that he did not spend anything for the Bengaluru trip of MLAs, or for their stay at Anand, and everything was taken care of by GPCC. He also said Solanki told him that it was the GPCC's decision to take the MLAs to Bengaluru, where they were kept together to counter apprehensions of horse trading by the ruling BJP.
Jain, who grilled Patel for over three-and-a-half hours, also questioned him on his formal and informal meetings scheduled between July 25 and July 30, and on Patel receiving the MLAs when they returned to Ahmedabad from Bengaluru. With Patel sticking to "I do not remember" as an answer for most of the questions, Justice Bela Trivedi, who is conducting the trial in the case, had to warn Patel. Justice Trivedi said: "I am warning you. It cannot be the case that you do not remember things. This will prolong your deposition."
Patel's advocate PS Champaneri submitted to the court that he wants to re-examine the Congress leader, and Jain too requested the court for the same. Therefore, Patel will again depose before the court on Tuesday.
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 "Ahmed Patel")
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