Togadia alleges Modi conspiring with Gujarat Police to harass him

Firebrand Hindu leader had gone ‘missing’ on Monday and emerged from a private hospital some 10 hours later

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi played host to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in his home state yesterday, his once-close aide and VHP leader Pravin Togadia here accused Modi of conspiring with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch to harass him and Vishwa Hindu Parishad supporters.

“J.K. Bhatt {Ahmedabad Joint Commissioner, Crime Branch] has begun hatching a conspiracy against me and harassing our nationalist workers at the behest of political bosses in Delhi. In the last 15 days, how many times has Bhatt spoken with the PM? Their call details must be made public,” Togadia, Acting President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, told reporters after his discharge from a private hospital in the evening.

Togadia, who was once known to be close to Modi, was referring to Bhatt’s press conference on Tuesday where he presented police investigation details to show that the VHP leader’s story — that he had fallen unconscious and was admitted to a hospital — was all made-up.

The firebrand Hindu leader had gone “missing” on Monday and emerged from a private hospital some 10 hours later in a reportedly unconscious state as his sugar levels fell drastically.

Togadia had claimed that a team of the Rajasthan Police had come for him in a shut 10-yearold case, though there was no instruction from Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for this.