AAP leader Isudan was tested for alcohol consumption after his frenzied protest at the BJP headquarters in Kamalam. But a BJP corporator’s son was let off, despite viral posts on social media about the ruckus created after his antics post a New Year’s Eve party. The CCTV footage is testimony to his corporator mother storming into the police station and ensuring her son was let off on bail.
Kunal Choksi’s mother Jhelum is a BJP corporator. The video shows her screaming at the law-enforcers, reinforcing that consuming alcohol is no big a crime and questioning the “big scene” being created. The corporator is also seen reprimanding the police for not having the manners to offer a glass of water to her “much anxious” son.
Comparisons are inevitable. In this case, they are obvious. Why did the police not draw blood to sample at FSL, as was done in the case of Isudan? After all, the breathalyser test reports for Isudan were negative but the blood reports, which came back Saturday, detected traces of alcohol.
Isudan claimed that the FSL blood report is fabricated and the “less than 0.0545 percentage trace” detected was a BJP conspiracy. To be fair, even staunch rivals within the BJP know that the journalist-turned-AAP politician Isudan is a teetotaller.
Congress leader Arjun Modhvadia reasoned the dichotomy to BJP tactics of putting people behind bars. He questioned the availability of liquor in dry Gujarat. Likewise, state Congress spokesperson Jairajsinh Parmar, said that while liquor flowed freely in Gujarat, now the ruling party was making alcohol an issue to silence dissent.
So, while open and visible discrepancies are allowed to go unnoticed/ let off after some cognisance, the Kunal Choksi matter takes it to an entirely different level. Not only did he commit an offence, but his corporator mother questioned the police detention.
Now, rumour is rife that the entire plot is meant to scuttle Isudan’s promising political career. A fresh FIR was filed Saturday night at Infocity police station in Gandhinagar.
In Kunal Choksi’s case, the FIR was lodged by the assistant sub-inspector who recorded his statement thus: “During night patrol, the young man was spotted shouting expletives in public in the Char Darwaja walled city area of Vadodra.…he appeared to be highly intoxicated. He was brought to the police station at around 1.30 am and identified himself as Krunal Rakesh Choksi. When asked to produce a permit, he did not have one. Therefore, he was booked under sections of the Prohibition Act.” No blood test was administered on the corporator’s son, who in an inebriated state, allegedly ripped off a policeman’s jacket.
On the other hand, when contacted, Jhelum Choksi maintained that her son was feeding his pet dog outside home. “The police came and created a ruckus. They beat up my son for questioning his right to be out with the pet at night,” she told VoI.
Either the police lodged a fake FIR. Or Kunal was truly drunk. Either Isudan was drunk. Or maybe the FSL report is truly a conspiracy… two cases. More questions with each passing day.
The answers are obvious.
