Son uses government car,agriculture minister agrees to pay rent

A traffic policeman managed the bustling traffic,unmindful of the official car,a Maruti Suzuki SX4,in the no parking zone.

Standing by the official car was Manish Sanghani and his friends. An MSU alumnus,the minister’s only son was visiting Vadodara for the Navratri celebrations and residing in the Vadodara Circuit House.

The minister confirmed that he was not visiting Vadodara,but it was his son Manish. “My family can use the Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry car,if I pay a monthly rent. My son was in Vadodara using the department car,but I will pay the rent to the government for the same,” said Sanghani.

On being told that his son was using the car with the red beacon,he said: “It is the duty of the driver to cover it with a black cap.”

Manish was not as candid though.

On Thursday morning he denied being in the Fatehgunj neighbourhood. A photograph by Newsline lensman contests this claim though.

“I was not at Fatehgunj. I was not well; I did not get out of the Circuit House,” he said. Later in the day,he,however,said: “I was there in Fatehgunj at night,but not around 10:00 pm. I was not with any government car. For the last three years I have been coming to Vadodara for the Navratri celebrations.”

An alumnus of the MSU- run Commerce College at Padra,Manish was the Faculty representative in 2003. Now running a construction business,Manish also heads the Sardar Patel group in Vadodara,which has raised a din on various issues like opposing Valentine’s Day celebrations and Aamir Khan’s comments on the Narmada Dam issue.