Senior MLA Amit Chavda headed a Congress delegation that met Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat to raise serious issues regarding suspected corruption in the state government. Chavda accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government of covering up ministers and council officers who were accused of financial irregularities.
Chavda levied particular charges against Minister of State for Panchayats and Agriculture, Bachubhai Khabad, alleging that his two sons, Balvant and Kiran Khabad, were arrested for their involvement in a ₹71 crore MGNREGA scam.
The scam is said to have been carried out in Dahod district's Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas from April 2021 to December 2024. Probe found that geotagged pictures and fake documents were sent in to collect payments for non-existent or incomplete work. Shri Raj Construction and Shri Raj Traders firms owned by the Khabad brothers were paid a total of over ₹30 crore without being registered vendors.
Chavda informed reporters, "Why was [Bachubhai] Khabad not ousted from the ministerial slot? Why is BJP government shielding him?"
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He also demanded that the Governor remove the minister and order a Special Investigation Team (SIT) inquiry into MGNREGA and Nal Se Jal Yojana schemes undertaken in the last two years.
He further stated, "The BJP government and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel are giving protection to the accused rather than delivering justice. We are demanding a probe by an independent agency and stern action against all parties involved without any political consideration."
In a separate reaction, Chavda responded to recent CBI raids at Montu Patel's home and office, President of the Pharmacy Council of India, in connection with an alleged multi-crore bribery scam where bogus approvals for pharmacy colleges were granted.
Patel, residing in the Ghatlodia constituency of Ahmedabad — Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel's home constituency — has been charged with being closely associated with top BJP leaders. "The scam amounts to ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 crore. The government should probe Montu Patel's political affiliations and take firm action," Chavda stated.
He also pointed out that the residence of the Pharmacy Council chief also lies in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, saying, "It's possible that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also aware of him."
Chavda called for statements from the Chief Minister and Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, to the public.
Joining the storm, Congress spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi has accused massive corruption in the Pharmacy Council itself, pointing to the CBI raids as proof. Doshi said that the Council Chairman, Montu Patel, had close connections with the BJP and accused the state government of operating a "racket of loot" through various regulatory authorities.
"Every council is extorting money in the name of giving approvals to colleges, and there are varying rates for different types of approvals," Doshi charged. He asked why the government was keeping quiet on State Pharmacy Council irregularities and accused several medical stores in Gujarat of running on spurious licences.
He also criticised the skewed nature of pharmacy education in the state. “There are 84 pharmacy colleges in Gujarat, of which only 3 are government-run. The government has only granted approval to private colleges,” he said.
Doshi alleged that private college operators are receiving large financial packages under the guise of fees and that this corruption is carried out with the knowledge of senior officials in Delhi.
This whole corruption came to light because of factionalism within the BJP. There was a conflict between the Union Minister and the Chairman of the Pharmacy Council about sharing the benefits, and that is how the scam was exposed," he stated.
Dr Doshi called for a complete probe into the process of giving approval to pharmacy colleges in Gujarat and the extent of malpractice in the profession, saying, "A probe must be conducted into the irregularities in the granting of recognition to several colleges and the extent of malpractices in Gujarat."
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