CM Bhupendra Patel shares stage with former minister Vipul Chaudhary accused in Rs 800-cr scam
Vipul Chaudhary, who was in judicial custody, was arrested in September 2022 for alleged irregularities worth Rs 800 crore during his tenure as Dudhsagar Dairy chairman.
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Vipul Chaudhary, stands in the front row on the stage (extreme left), as Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel greets the gathering in Solaiya village on Sunday. (Express Photo)
At an event organised by the Chaudhary community in Solaiya village of Mansa taluka in Gandhinagar, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Speaker of Gujarat Assembly Shankar Chaudhary were seeing sharing the stage with former minister in the Shankersinh Vaghela government — Vipul Chaudhary, who is accused in the alleged Rs 800 crore crore scam, on Sunday.
Leaders from the community across party lines were seen at the event organised under the aegis of Vishv Anjana Mahasammelan, headed by NRI Raman Chaudhary from the US-Canada.
Hailing the contribution of the Chaudhary community in agriculture and dairy sectors of Gujarat, the CM said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown an example of the kind of development that can be achieved when unity of community is encouraged by the government… If we continue doing noble deeds then development of community is certain…And as government we are standing by you whenever required.”
Among the dairy leaders on stage were Shankar Chaudhary who heads the Banas Dairy, which is among the richest in Gujarat, and Ashok Chaudhary who heads the Dudhsagar dairy of Mehsana that was earlier headed by Vipul.
Speaker of Gujarat Assembly Shankar Chaudhary said that Anjana-Chaudhary community has come up through hardwork in agriculture and dairy sector. He said that looking at the function, one may conclude that the Chaudhary community is very well off. “However, that is not the reality. Such people are very few. The rest of the community people are doing labour work… You will benefit only when you take people from all the communities together,” he said.
Banaskantha MP Parbat Patel, Kheralu MLA Sardar Chaudhary, Mansa MLA J S Patel, former Union minister Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary from Banaskantha, president of Akhil Anjana Kelavani Mandal Haribhai V Chaudhary, former MLAs Amit Chaudhary and Ramila Chaudhary, former minister Harjivan Patel and BJP MP from Mehsana Shardaben Patel were also present.
In his address, former chairman of Dudhsagar Dairy Vipul Chaudhary, who was in judicial custody, after he was arrested by the Anti Corruption Bureau on charges of corruption, emphasised the importance of uniting the community. “Only that community, which is awakened, can walk with the time,” he said.
In October 2022, Congress leaders gathered at Mehsana in solidarity with Vipul who was in jail in a case accusing him of alleged irregularities worth Rs 800 crore in which former CM Shankersinh Vaghela and former Gujarat Pradesh Congress committee (GPCC) president Arjun Modhwadia were summoned as witnesses. The gathering organised by the Anjana Chaudharys was addressed by the two leaders who had campaigned against the BJP.
In the run up to the recently concluded Gujarat assembly elections, Arbuda Sena led by Vipul had protested against ruling BJP at a number of places in north Gujarat.
President of the Mahasammelan, Raman Chaudhary, called upon the community people to start thinking about going abroad and to motivate their young generation for the same. More than 200 NRIs too participated in the event.
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