Charges against Ahmed Patel part of PM Modi's strategy to absolve himself of responsibility for communal carnage: Cong

The charges levelled against late Congress leader Ahmed Patel are part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "systematic strategy to absolve himself of any responsibility for communal carnage" unleashed when the latter was Gujarat chief minister, the Congress alleged on Saturday.

The Congress made this allegation in a statement issued by Jairam Ramesh, the party's general secretary in-charge of the communication department.

The allegation comes a day after the Gujarat police opposed activist Teesta Setalvad's bail application. An affidavit filed by the police's Special Investigation Team before the sessions court on Friday said Setalvad was part of a "larger conspiracy" carried out at the behest of Ahmed Patel to dismiss the BJP government in the state after the 2002 riots.