A photograph of Bhajiyawala greeting BJP leader and Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala at a social gathering is proving embarrassing to the BJP in general and the Minister himself in particular.
Television media is displaying the photograph widely in order to corner the Modi govt which has mounted a fierce campaign against black money. IT and ED officials are overactive nabbing the culprit and it was a specific intelligence feedback that led them to the house and offices of Kishore Bhajiyawala, Surat- based tea seller-turned-financier.
ED recovered Rs 250 crore in unaccounted wealth. The Bhajiyawalas who ran a tea and bhajiya stall for many years in Surat developed political connections and allegedly usurped the properties of borrowers who failed to pay the interest on time.
In June this year Parshottam Rupala was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat as the election became necessary because of the death of the Congress Rajya Sabha member Pravin Rashtrapal.
Being a strong leader belonging to Patidar community, his elevation to the Cabinet was considered inevitable and he was sworn-in as State Minister in Agriculture Ministry soon after in the cabinet reshuffle.
He is believed to be an Amit Shah loyalist who was part of Modi’s campaign team in Varanasi during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.