RAJKOT: “Five minutes ago I was the jails ministerand in the next five minutes, I was an inmate.” That’s how Union home minister Amit Shah recalled on Saturday his three months of incarceration in 2010 when the CBI arrested him in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
The unusual candour generated surprise and amusement in the audience as Shah recollected “those difficult times” while speaking at the birth centenary of eminent lawyer and former law and justice minister Divyakant Nanavati in Junagadh.
Addressing the function organised by the Rupayatan Trust, the senior BJP leader hailed the professionalism of Nanavati’s son Nirupam, also a renowned criminal lawyer who fought his case despite the family’s long political affiliation with Congress.
“Congress framed me and the CBI lodged a case. My friends and I were pondering who to appoint as my lawyer. So, obviously Nirupam bhai’s name came up. But everyone, including me, was sceptical if he would take up the case considering the family’s Congress background. But I thought, ‘What’s the harm in asking him?’ Much to my surprise, he readily agreed. He not only took up my case but fought till the Supreme Court and helped me get discharged,” the home minister recalled. Shah was discharged in December 2014.
“When I asked him (Nirupam) the reason, he said he had friends in Congress and he knew they had framed me. There can’t be a bigger example of professionalism than this,” he added.
The function was organised to highlight Nanavati’s work for the development of Junagadh and nearby areas. A book commemorating Nanavati’s life was also launched at the event.
The unusual candour generated surprise and amusement in the audience as Shah recollected “those difficult times” while speaking at the birth centenary of eminent lawyer and former law and justice minister Divyakant Nanavati in Junagadh.
Addressing the function organised by the Rupayatan Trust, the senior BJP leader hailed the professionalism of Nanavati’s son Nirupam, also a renowned criminal lawyer who fought his case despite the family’s long political affiliation with Congress.
“Congress framed me and the CBI lodged a case. My friends and I were pondering who to appoint as my lawyer. So, obviously Nirupam bhai’s name came up. But everyone, including me, was sceptical if he would take up the case considering the family’s Congress background. But I thought, ‘What’s the harm in asking him?’ Much to my surprise, he readily agreed. He not only took up my case but fought till the Supreme Court and helped me get discharged,” the home minister recalled. Shah was discharged in December 2014.
“When I asked him (Nirupam) the reason, he said he had friends in Congress and he knew they had framed me. There can’t be a bigger example of professionalism than this,” he added.
The function was organised to highlight Nanavati’s work for the development of Junagadh and nearby areas. A book commemorating Nanavati’s life was also launched at the event.
