As reported by Republic, David Dorsett, Mehul Choksi’s lawyer has claimed that Choksi had ‘loose alliance’ with the Congress which ‘flamed’ the situation, implying the case against him is a case of political witchhunt. In a conversation with Republic, Dorsett has claimed that there are ‘serious political elements involved’ in the case. Mehul Choksi, who is an accused in the multi-crore financial fraud, has recently claimed that he is now an Antiguan citizen. He became an Antiguan citizen in November 2017, months before the scam broke out.
India has requested Antigua to detain him, following which Choksi approached the High Court of Antigua to block the government’s move to extradite him.
Choksi’s lawyer also called Nirav Modi, his nephew, also an accused in the financial fraud, a ‘scapegoat’ and that the authorities are trying to pin the matter on him. He further says that a very serious political element is involved in this whole matter and the political climate in India is heated up in a very ‘serious way’ especially with the elections coming up next year. He claimed that “the politicians in splints right now. They are trying to carry as much popular support as they can and the situation with Mr. Choksi has to be seen in that context”.
He further claims that Choksi “was an ordinary businessman and he had some loose alliance with what is now known as the opposition party in India, the Congress Party, which is the party that is different from the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I believe that his name. So, there is a difference. I also know that he was a regional, a political activist but there was somewhat of a loose alliance that has kind of inflamed the situation.”
Earlier, the BJP had cornered Congress over fielding Mehul Choksi’s lawyer as a candidate in Karnataka Assembly elections. Interestingly, on 16th May, 2014, the day election results were declared with Prime Minister Modi winning the elections, P. Chidambaram, the then finance minister, had signed an order to benefit 13 companies including Mehul Choksi.
Meanwhile, Republic reports that the BJP will be holding an emergency meeting to discuss the development and even raise the issue in the Parliament. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, too, sought an explanation from Congress.
