The Nirav Modi connection might have cost Congress party candidate from Madikeri assembly constituency, advocate H.S. Chandramouli, his ticket to contest the May 12 elections.
A day after the social media was abuzz with Chandramouli's alleged “links” to diamond businessman Mehul Choksi (uncle of Nirav Modi, accused in the Rs. 12,300 crore Punjab National Bank scam), the Congress high command did not give the B form to Chandramouli, whose name had figured in the list of 218 (out of 224) candidates, announced by the the party on Sunday. KPCC chief G. Parameshwara, who distributed the B forms at a resort in north Bengaluru to all the nominees, did not issue one to Chandramouli till Tuesday morning, leading to speculations. So far, as many as 170 B forms have been given out, but this does not include Chandramouli.
According to sources, Chandramouli served as Mehul Choksi's lawyer in a cheating case in 2015. The complainant, S.V. Hariprasad, a franchisee of Gitanjali Gems owned by Choksi, had alleged that Choksi had cheated him of crores of rupees. But when the police filed a closure report in the case, Hariprasad moved the magistrate court, which ordered the CID to continue probe into the case. However, Mehul Choksi appealed before the Karnataka High Court, challenging the magistrate court order, and managed to obtain a stay in the matter.
On Monday, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya taunted the Congress party over its choice of candidates and tweeted, “What is so special about HS Chandramouli, lawyer of Nirav Modi's uncle Mehul Choksi, that Congress gave him a ticket from Madikeri while denying one to Brijesh Kalappa, Siddaramaiah's legal advisor and party spokesperson? Rahul's friends over CM's aide?”
Meanwhile, Kalappa, posted in detail the “ignominy” he faced as he was ousted from the race. His post read: “I have been denied a ticket for Lok Sabha 2009 and 2014, Rajya Sabha 2014, 2016, 2018 and now assembly. I will swallow the ignominy of being ousted from the race by a person who joined the party in 2016, got a legislative council ticket the same year, lost, and the same person now bags the assembly ticket for Madikeri. I will try for Gram Panchayat next time. Someone in my party is clearly telling me to seek nomination for a constituency befitting my status. Those FB Friends I love and respect—don't shed tears for me. After so many disappointments, I am entitled to use Rajesh Khanna's immortal words "Pushpa, I hate tears."
Malviya, again took to Twitter, saying, “Congress putting on H.S. Chandramouli's ticket on hold, after being called out, is an admission of guilt and Rahul Gandhi's obvious cosy relationship with Nirav and Mehul Choksi, who flourished under UPA and are now absconding.”
As the social media went berserk, questioning the integrity of Chandramouli. Brijesh, also an advocate, rushed to defend his fraternity with another Facebook post.“The issues that I had raised regarding the nomination of Shri Chandramouli were wholly different from what are currently being debated. I'm a lawyer too. If I appeared for a person in 2010, could I be implicated if that person gets involved in a crime in 2018? No.”
“It appears that the facts with regards to Chandramouli appearing for Mehul Choksi are much the same.
If the implications for having appeared for someone who subsequently enters a life of crime are so burdensome, it is important to remember that Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri had appeared for Lalit Modi even after he had turned into a fugitive. Or that Arun Jaitley's daughter Sonali and her husband had been retained by Nirav Modi even when Arun Jaitley continued to be minister for finance and Nirav was planning to exit the nation right under their noses.
Chandramouli cannot be denied nomination on this ground. My conscience would not permit me to be the beneficiary of such a decision. If I am to get my due, it has to be for the right reasons, and not by misapplication of professional ethics on a fellow lawyer.”
It is not the first time Chandramouli has taken up a high-profile case, and of people with questionable repute. In May 2010, Chandramouli, who was the counsel for the controversial 'godman' Nithyananda who was facing charges of rape, unnatural sex, criminal intimidation, and hurting religious sentiments, had pulled out of all the cases pending in the courts of Ramanagara, Bengaluru and Chennai, citing his “inability” to attend the courts across three cities.
“Chandramouli has been a legal consultant to Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George in the DySP M.K. Ganapathy suicide case. His candidature is an obligatory selection,” alleged Napanda Muthappa, a ticket aspirant and state vice president of Indian National Trade Union Congress, who is planning to filed his nomination as an independent.
Wooing Madikeri
A stronghold of the BJP, Kodagu is represented by two BJP MLAs–Appachu Ranjan (Madikeri) and K.G. Bopaiah (Virajpet)—and BJP MP Pratap Simha. The Congress is desperate to make inroads into the district, which is increasingly getting communally polarised. The local Congress leaders are feeling the heat after the Siddaramaiah government imposed Tipu Jayanti celebrations against the wishes of the Kodava people who consider Tipu Sultan a “bigot”. The district also frequently erupts to register its protest alleging “neglect” of the region by subsequent government.
This time, the nomination of Chandramouli from Madikeri, surprised even the partymen as he belongs to the Lingayat community. This is the first time, the party had chosen a Lingayat candidate over a Kodava or a Gowda.
The vote share of the BJP in Madikeri constituency in the last two last two assembly polls have been 47 per cent (2008) and 36.8 per cent (2013), while the Congress's vote share reduced from 41.9 per cent in 2008 to 21 per cent in 2013.