Social activist Teesta Setalvad’s ex-colleague Rais Khan Pathan made a shocking revelation! Teesta Setalvad has been accused by the SIT of destabilizing the then elected government in Gujarat and taking money from late Congress leader Ahmed Patel after the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Pathan claimed that he and Teesta met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi when Sonia asked Teesta if she was short of funds. Demanding an SIT probe on Sonia Gandhi, Pathan said that Ahmed Patel and Sonia Gandhi were involved in trying to destabilize the Gujarat government, which was headed by Narendra Modi.
Raees Khan Pathan claimed that he was a witness to the deal between Teesta Setalwad and Ahmed Patel. To defame the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and overthrow the BJP government in the initial phase Rs. 5 lakh and after 48 hours Rs. Pathan made several important revelations by claiming to have been given 25 lakhs.
Pathan further claimed that late Congress leader Ahmed Patel had given this money to Teesta from Narendra Bhrambhatt and said that there will never be shortage of money, just remember the purpose. According to Pathan, Ahmed Patel said that steps should be taken to ensure that Modi is behind bars and the government falls.
Ahmed Patel’s daughter Mumtaz Patel’s claim is completely false. Pathan further said that after parting ways with Teesta in 2008, he met Ahmed Patel twice and complained to him, but Patel said he was doing whatever was happening and was allegedly told to stay away.
Rais Khan Pathan further claimed that he and Teesta met Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi. Then Sonia asked Teesta – Pathan said – there is no problem with the fund. Pathan said, ‘Sonia Gandhi asked if there was any shortage of funds. Teesta allegedly refused and Pathan said that Teesta also mentioned that thanks to Ahmed Patel, he did not face any problem. Raees Khan Pathan said that everything will be clear after the SIT interrogates Sonia Gandhi.
Meanwhile, Teesta Setalvad told a local court on Monday that these and other charges against her are baseless. The Mumbai activist, who is lodged in a Gujarat jail, also denied allegations of fabricating evidence to implicate innocent people in the 2002 riots cases.
Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea of Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the riots. The petition alleged a “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat. But the Supreme Court upheld the earlier SIT’s clean chit against Prime Minister Narendra Modi (then Gujarat Chief Minister) and 63 others.
The Supreme Court said there was no “material headline” to support the allegation that the violence following the Godhra train burning incident was a “premeditated incident” due to a conspiracy hatched at the highest levels in the state. Ehsan Jafri was among 68 people killed in Ahmedabad’s Gulberg Society during violence on February 28, 2002, a day after a Sabarmati Express train caught fire near Godhra station. 1,044 people were killed in the state-wide riots that broke out after the train burning incident. The central government informed the Rajya Sabha in May 2005 that 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed in the post-Godhra riots.