The Congress has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi got a former ally arrested in Gujarat because he turned against the BJP and was threatening to inflict serious damage on the ruling party in the coming Assembly election.

“Vipul Chaudhary, chairman of a large milk cooperative Dudhsagar Dairy, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Gujarat police for a scam of Rs 800 crore. The FIR says that the scam took place between 2005 and 2016. Why has he been arrested in 2022?” Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil asked.

Gohil added: “Vipul Chaudhary was very close to Narendra Modi when he was chief minister. He used to organise and sponsor BJP functions. There are countless videos and photographs of Modi with this man. He called Modi his ‘guru’. If the scam happened between 2005 and 2016, what was Modi doing as chief minister? He boasted of zero corruption in his regime. How did a person close to him loot Rs 800 crore?”

Chaudhary was a minister of state for home in the BJP government headed by Shankarsinh Vaghela.

Gohil said: “Modi had given freedom to loot (“bhay-mukt bhastachar”). But he (Vipul) floated his own Arbuda Sena by mobilising his Chaudhary community, which has significant influence in Mehsana and neighbouring districts. He turned against the BJP and declared his intent to contest the election. The FIR was soon registered and he was arrested. His wife, son and chartered accountant have also been named in the FIR.”

Gohil added: “The Modi model of governance functions like this: now the police will blackmail him into helping the BJP in the election. They will say his wife and son will not be arrested if he cooperated. We want an inquiry under the supervision of a high court judge. Why are the officials responsible for oversight not named in the FIR as Dudhsagar Dairy was registered under the Gujarat State Cooperative Society Act? There should also be a special audit of all cooperatives in Gujarat.”