New Delhi: Amit Shah, Gujarat Minister of State for Home and Chief Minister Narendra Modi's closest aide, has resigned. The decision was announced by Modi himself early on Saturday morning. (Watch: Amit Shah - The insider | Read: Who is Amit Shah?)
"Today, when I landed at the Delhi airport in the morning, I got a call that Amit Shah has sent in his resignation papers to my bungalow. I will go back and complete all the necessary formalities. I accept his resignation," Modi said. (Read: Gujarat minister Amit Shah resigns, Modi says Shah is not guilty)
Shah is still missing - he has not been seen at his office for most of this week and has, in the last two days, skipped two appointments with the CBI for interrogation. He is charged with murder in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case and has been denied anticipatory bail by an Ahmedabad court. (Read:Who is Sohrabuddin Sheikh)
"Amit Shah is completely innocent and all evidences against him are just fabricated. Everything is politically motivated. The whole country knows that during the 2007 elections, Congress had projected Sohrabuddin as a national hero and tried to cash in on him. However, they had to suffered a huge loss. This is a conspiracy against the Gujarat government." Modi said. (Watch: Allegations against Amit Shah politically motivated: Modi)
The Congress, meanwhile, has said that Shah's resignation is "too little, too late."
The BJP's senior leaders have said that the CBI is being misused by the Congress against its political opponents. As a sign of protest, they decided not to attend a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister on Friday. (Watch: Govt shamelessly misusing CBI, says Jaitley)
"Whatever they have said at the press conference and whatever they may have said today, they ought to have said in January 2010 when the Supreme Court had handed over the case to CBI. And I also hope that if no one had read the Supreme Court order, at least, Arun Jaitley ought to have read the January 2010 order, " said the Home Minister.
"Our friends in Congress keep citing about the Supreme Court, it's the same Supreme Court that has ordered hanging of Afzal Guru but besides all this, the case is still pending and the Home Minister himself said that when the turn of the case will come in order, it will happen. Today CBI has thousands of cases that are pending, so why is Gujarat given the priority? This shows that there is politics behind it," Modi said.
Marble lobby involved, says CBI
In a 30,000-page chargesheet, the CBI has accused Shah along with 14 senior police officers for killing Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife, Kauser Bi, in November 2005. Some of those police officers are already in jail. (Read:Who is Sohrabuddin Sheikh)
The CBI has claimed in its chargesheet that some prominent marble manufacturers had approached politicians and policemen to eliminate Sohrabudin because he was threatening them and was trying to extort large sums of money.
The chargesheet also says that in October and November 2004, Sohrabuddin had threatened marble traders who were well connected to politicians and police officers in Rajasthan. It goes on to name the owners of RM Marbles and Sangam Textile as the traders with powerful connections. The chargesheet states that the marble lobby was getting restive and got Sohrabudin killed through their political connections. It goes on to say that Amit Shah, as Gujarat's minister of state for Home, had a role to play.
The CBI now wants to find out what the link was between Shah and prominent marble manufactures.
The CBI chargesheet has recorded chats that show DG Vanzara, who was the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), was in touch with Shah. The chargesheet also mentions recordings according to which Shah gave instructions to kill Kauser Bi.
Will Amit Shah surface now?
Shah has been contemplating approaching the High Court for anticipatory bail after it was rejected by a lower court on Friday. CBI Judge G K Upadhaya rejected Shah's application on technical grounds, as his application did not mention sections of Indian Penal Code under which he was accused.
Shah's lawyer, Mitesh Amin, said they were deliberating on legal options. "We need to first have a look at the chargesheet and the charges against the minister before taking any further decision," Amin said.
In November 2005, Sohrabuddin was shot dead on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. His wife, Kauser Bi, was also killed. At the time, Gujarat's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) said that Sohrabuddin was a terrorist who planned to assassinate Modi. But in 2007, the Gujarat state government admitted in court that Sohrabuddin and Kauser Bi had been wrongly killed.
The Supreme Court asked the CBI to take over the Sohrabuddin case in January this year. Till then, the investigation was being handled by the Gujarat Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The court found the CID's work unsatisfactory and told the CBI to present a report by the end of this month.
What the CBI wants to ask Amit Shah
The CBI has refused to give Amit Shah's lawyer the questions it wants to put to the minister. However, CBI sources told NDTV that the questioning will revolve around these lines:
"Today, when I landed at the Delhi airport in the morning, I got a call that Amit Shah has sent in his resignation papers to my bungalow. I will go back and complete all the necessary formalities. I accept his resignation," Modi said. (Read: Gujarat minister Amit Shah resigns, Modi says Shah is not guilty)
Shah is still missing - he has not been seen at his office for most of this week and has, in the last two days, skipped two appointments with the CBI for interrogation. He is charged with murder in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case and has been denied anticipatory bail by an Ahmedabad court. (Read:Who is Sohrabuddin Sheikh)
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"Amit Shah is completely innocent and all evidences against him are just fabricated. Everything is politically motivated. The whole country knows that during the 2007 elections, Congress had projected Sohrabuddin as a national hero and tried to cash in on him. However, they had to suffered a huge loss. This is a conspiracy against the Gujarat government." Modi said. (Watch: Allegations against Amit Shah politically motivated: Modi)
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The Congress, meanwhile, has said that Shah's resignation is "too little, too late."
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The BJP's senior leaders have said that the CBI is being misused by the Congress against its political opponents. As a sign of protest, they decided not to attend a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister on Friday. (Watch: Govt shamelessly misusing CBI, says Jaitley)
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"Whatever they have said at the press conference and whatever they may have said today, they ought to have said in January 2010 when the Supreme Court had handed over the case to CBI. And I also hope that if no one had read the Supreme Court order, at least, Arun Jaitley ought to have read the January 2010 order, " said the Home Minister.
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"Our friends in Congress keep citing about the Supreme Court, it's the same Supreme Court that has ordered hanging of Afzal Guru but besides all this, the case is still pending and the Home Minister himself said that when the turn of the case will come in order, it will happen. Today CBI has thousands of cases that are pending, so why is Gujarat given the priority? This shows that there is politics behind it," Modi said.
Marble lobby involved, says CBI
In a 30,000-page chargesheet, the CBI has accused Shah along with 14 senior police officers for killing Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife, Kauser Bi, in November 2005. Some of those police officers are already in jail. (Read:Who is Sohrabuddin Sheikh)
The CBI has claimed in its chargesheet that some prominent marble manufacturers had approached politicians and policemen to eliminate Sohrabudin because he was threatening them and was trying to extort large sums of money.
The chargesheet also says that in October and November 2004, Sohrabuddin had threatened marble traders who were well connected to politicians and police officers in Rajasthan. It goes on to name the owners of RM Marbles and Sangam Textile as the traders with powerful connections. The chargesheet states that the marble lobby was getting restive and got Sohrabudin killed through their political connections. It goes on to say that Amit Shah, as Gujarat's minister of state for Home, had a role to play.
The CBI now wants to find out what the link was between Shah and prominent marble manufactures.
The CBI chargesheet has recorded chats that show DG Vanzara, who was the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), was in touch with Shah. The chargesheet also mentions recordings according to which Shah gave instructions to kill Kauser Bi.
Will Amit Shah surface now?
Shah has been contemplating approaching the High Court for anticipatory bail after it was rejected by a lower court on Friday. CBI Judge G K Upadhaya rejected Shah's application on technical grounds, as his application did not mention sections of Indian Penal Code under which he was accused.
Shah's lawyer, Mitesh Amin, said they were deliberating on legal options. "We need to first have a look at the chargesheet and the charges against the minister before taking any further decision," Amin said.
In November 2005, Sohrabuddin was shot dead on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. His wife, Kauser Bi, was also killed. At the time, Gujarat's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) said that Sohrabuddin was a terrorist who planned to assassinate Modi. But in 2007, the Gujarat state government admitted in court that Sohrabuddin and Kauser Bi had been wrongly killed.
The Supreme Court asked the CBI to take over the Sohrabuddin case in January this year. Till then, the investigation was being handled by the Gujarat Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The court found the CID's work unsatisfactory and told the CBI to present a report by the end of this month.
What the CBI wants to ask Amit Shah
The CBI has refused to give Amit Shah's lawyer the questions it wants to put to the minister. However, CBI sources told NDTV that the questioning will revolve around these lines:
- Do you know Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed by the Gujarat Police?
- Was the killing sanctioned by you?
- If not, when and how did you learn about his death?
- How was Sohrabuddin's wife, Kausar, killed?
- Did you know Kausar was in police custody when Sohrabuddin was killed?
- Who killed Kausar and how?
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