Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank (ADCB) and its chairman Ajay Patel Monday filed separate criminal defamation cases against Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala for their remarks on the bank in connection with an RTI filed on demonetisation. At a press meet on June 22, Surjewala had claimed, quoting an RTI reply, that the bank exchanged junked notes worth Rs 745.58 crore in five days after demonetisation was announced. He also claimed that ADCB chairman Patel is a “close associate of BJP president Amit Shah who is a director and former chairman of the bank". He had demanded a probe and alleged that the RTI reply has “exposed an attempt to convert black money into white money in the guise of demonetisation”. The same day, Rahul tweeted: “Congratulations Amit Shah ji, Director, Ahmedabad Dist Cooperative Bank, on your bank winning 1st prize in the conversion of old notes to new race. 750 Cr in 5 days! Millions of Indian whose lives were destroyed by Demonetisation, salute your achievement.” NABARD had later clarified that average deposit in ADCB was Rs 46,795 per account holder, lower than the average in 18 district co-operative banks in Gujarat. The cases were filed in metropolitan magisterial court, which ordered an inquiry under CrPC and adjourned the hearing till September 17. Counsel for ADCB and Patel, S V Raju, said Surjewala made “false and baseless” charges. He said Rahul tweeted “‘ShahZyadaKhaGaya’ .that the party (BJP) became richer by 80 per cent. But not a single penny has gone anywhere from the bank.”. Read | Demonetisation: Congress wants probe into deposit of banned notes Congress leader Randeep Surjewala had claimed that Ajay Patel, the chairman of Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, which mobilised Rs 745.58 crore worth of banned notes in just four days in November 2016, is a “close associate” of BJP president Amit Shah who is a director and former chairman of the bank. While demanding a probe into the deposits, Surjewala had said that the RTI reply had "exposed an attempt to convert black into white money in the guise of demonetisation". Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi had said, “Congratulations Amit Shah ji, Director, Ahmedabad Dist Cooperative Bank, on your bank winning 1st prize in the conversion of old notes to new race. 750 Cr in 5 days! Millions of Indian whose lives were destroyed by Demonetisation, salute your achievement.” Congratulations Amit Shah ji , Director, Ahmedabad Dist. Cooperative Bank, on your bank winning 1st prize in the conversion of old notes to new race. 750 Cr in 5 days! Millions of Indians whose lives were destroyed by Demonetisation, salute your achievement. #ShahZyadaKhaGaya pic.twitter.com/rf1QaGmzxV — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 22, 2018 While responding to the allegations, then acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal had said, "Congress is once again trying to sensationalise the issue with misguided allegations against Shri @AmitShah, which clearly shows desperation to deflect public attention from its own misdemeanours. Rightly exposed by NABARD.” The BJP’s IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya had posted on Twitter: “Taking down Rahul Gandhi is boring, because he neither has facts nor credibility. 746 cr was deposited by 1.6 L account holders (mostly farmers and neo-middle class), which translates to- 46K/depositor, lower than other banks. RG’s demonetisation blues?” Goyal and Malviya linked their Twitter posts to a press statement from NABARD.
