AHMEDABAD: Under fire in the Dahod MNREGA scam, Gujarat Panchayat Raj Minister Bachu Khabad on Tuesday defended his sons, slamming the allegations as fabricated and politically motivated.
“Our role was limited to material supply; Congress is peddling falsehoods,” he claimed, breaking his silence after his younger son, Kiran Khabar, was arrested, days after the arrest of his elder son in the same case.
Kiran, along with three others, was produced in court on Tuesday as police sought a 14-day remand. The court approved four-day custody for Kiran and TDO Rasik Rathwa, and a 10-day remand for APO Dilip Chauhan.
Gujarat Panchayat Minister Bachu Khabad broke his silence on the MNREGA controversy in Dahod, slamming the Congress for what he called “baseless allegations” of corruption against his sons.
“Congress is shouting that my sons looted MNREGA money through agencies. Let them prove it,” Khabad told reporters on Monday. “I’ve presented my sons before the authorities myself. We’re fully cooperating with the investigation. An FIR has been lodged, and we’re helping the probe.”
Taking a sharp jab at his political rivals, Khabad said, “Congress has nothing to talk about except falsehoods. They raise the same stale allegations again and again. They raised it in the assembly, the government answered. They went to the High Court in 2018, the case was dismissed.”
Calling the accusations politically motivated, he declared, “I have served as minister thrice. I’ve worked in public life for 25 years. And I say this with conviction, if Congress proves even a single rupee of corruption during my three years as Panchayat Minister, I will quit politics.”
“We are building Dahod, not looting it. Congress just talks. We deliver,” he added.
The police investigation into the Rs 71 crore MNREGA scam in Devgadh Baria taluka of Dahod district has intensified, with the arrest tally now reaching 11. The crackdown began on 17 May with the arrest of Minister Bachu Khabad’s elder son, Balwant Khabar, and then-TDO Darshan Patel.
Building on the probe, four more arrests were made on Monday, including Khabad’s younger son, Kiran Khabar, agency owner Parth Baria, Devgadh Baria’s APO Dilip Chauhan, and R.N. Rathwa, then TDO of Dhanpur and now posted as Deputy District Development Officer. The widening net signals a deep-rooted nexus, as investigators continue to unravel the massive embezzlement under the rural employment scheme.
