Rajya Sabha election case: Ahmed Patel remained present in Gujarat HC with counsel P Chidambaram for cross examination

Ahmedabad: Senior Congress leader and party treasurer Ahmed Patel was today examined as a witness in the Gujarat High Court in the case filed challenging his election to the Rajya Sabha from the state in August 2017.

The cross examination was likely to continue tomorrow as well.

Former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram was present in the court as the counsel of Patel who was cross examined by advocate Satyapal Jain who appeared for petitioner Balwantsinh Rajput the BJP candidate in the Rajyasabha election who was defeated by a close margin by Patel.

Jain said that he had asked Patel about primary things and other things including the meeting of Congress party on July 25, 2017.

‘The matter is still under hearing and cross examination was also to continue so it would not be appropriated for me to make more comment about it,’ Jain said.

Rajput, the former whip of Congress in Gujarat assembly had switched over to BJP before the election. He filed the election petition after he was defeated in the election for three RS seats of Gujarat as the third BJP candidate. He has alleged that Patel had bribed legislators to get votes and he had also requested the court to quash the ECI decision to invalidate the two votes of then dissident Congress MLAs and his supporters Raghavji Patel and Bhola Gohil which according to him had resulted in his defeat.

On the other two seats BJP candidates Amit Shah and Smriti Irani had won but they have now resigned owing to their election to Lok sabha.

DeshGujarat