AHMEDABAD: Days after a BJP MLA in Gujarat accused the Rajkot police commissioner of indulging in corrupt practices, the opposition Congress on Monday said minister Harsh Sanghavi should tender his resignation as money collected by officials was making its way to the ruling party.
The Gujarat BJP refuted the allegations and said the party was running a government that was trusted by the people, adding that minister of state for home Sanghavi had already order a probe in the issue.
On February 2, Govind Patel, BJP MLA from Rajkot South, had written to Sanghavi alleging that Rajkot police commissioner Manoj Agarwal had demanded and collected 15 per cent commission on the amount recovered and returned to victims of financial fraud.
Addressing a press conference during the day, Rajkot Congress leader Indranil Rajguru said the police commissioner was acting like an agent of the BJP government.
"People should not ignore such corrupt practices. It is a fact officers get plum postings by paying crores of rupees. I want the government to suspend Agarwal and give assurance to the people that he will not be taken back into service," said the former Congress MLA.
Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor sought Sanghavi's resignation claiming such "collection" was happening across the state.
"This is not a one-off case. Each police station has been given a target by the BJP to collect a specific amount of money (every month) and give to the party. BJP leaders never believed us when the Congress used to raise this issue in the past. But now their own leaders are saying that a police commissioner is collecting money," said Thakor.
"The police commissioner says he will charge this much commission. On one hand, the BJP protects anti-social elements, and on the other it also supports such officers. People are demanding answers from the BJP. Minister Sanghavi should tender his resignation," Thakor added.
However, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave refuted the allegations saying Sanghavi had already ordered a probe into the entire issue.
"Instead of covering up the issue, MLA Govind Patel forwarded the complaint against the police commissioner to the home minister. The BJP MLA actually raised the people's voice and the home minister has already launched a probe into this issue. The opposition is upset because our MLA did what they were supposed to do, which is raising people's issues," said Dave.
Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil has urged Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel not to spare those who are found guilty, he said, adding that people in the state have trust in the BJP government that it will take action without bias.