BJP Elated at Special Court Decision to Discharge Shah in Sohrabuddin Case

NEW DELHI: With a Mumbai court giving a clean chit to BJP chief Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, the saffron party said it had been vindicated since the case was a result of a political witch-hunt. The party said the CBI was misused by the previous Congress Government for political ends to target Shah, who was an Interior Minister in the then Narendra Modi Government in Gujarat. Moreover, the BJP demanded an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress hit back, terming the verdict “strange and worrisome,” and alleged that the CBI was working under the pressure of the government.

Finance Minister and Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley said, “The charges were filed against Shah at the behest of the then government.”

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “extremely pleased to know that Shah has been given a clean chit by the special CBI court.”

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also said the court’s decision has vindicated the party’s stand.

“The Congress cannot win politically, that is why the party has resorted to crooked mode to tarnish Shah’s image. Congress president Sonia  should apologise to the nation for this odious crime,” BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said in a statement.

After the verdict, as Shah reached the BJP headquarters, jubilant party workers set off crackers and garlanded him.However, other political parties, particularly the Congress, said the CBI was only listening to its political masters.“There are many  questions to answer, serious questions.... And most importantly there was the statement under (Section) 164 (CrpC) before the Magistrate. None of this was projected by the CBI counsel during the 15-minute submission before court,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

Fellow Congress leader Rashid Alvi said that it appears that the CBI is working under pressure in the BJP-NDA Government.

The AAP in a statement said, “Narendra Modi’s direct and open interference in the functioning of the CBI has led to the dropping of serious criminal charges against BJP president Shah in the case of kidnapping and cold-blooded murders of Sohrabuddin, his wife Kausar Bi and eyewitness Prajapati.

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