A 29-year-old architect from Gujarat, who says that his wife had committed suicide inside Chief Minister Narendra Modi's office after being "harassed" by the government and police, is camping here to "dissuade" people against voting for BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
However, BJP today "questioned" his motive and asked for a probe into the matter.
"Instead of justice from the Gujarat government and the state police, we (he and his wife) got harassment in return that drove my spouse to commit suicide at the chief minister's (Modi's) office in Gandhinagar, no less. What is happening in Gujarat, should not repeat in other states," Kalpesh Patel told reporters today.
"And, therefore, I am here to warn voters against the perils ahead," Patel said.
He said that in the next couple of weeks he will start a campaign in Varanasi by collecting many other "victims" of the Modi-ruled regime in the western state.
Narrating his tale, Patel, who hails from Mehsana district of Gujarat, says that he and his wife were being harassed by his in-laws. When they approached police, instead of lodging an FIR, he was detained in a lock-up and tortured by them.
"I and my wife Ami Patel were harassed by my in-laws and instead of lodging an FIR against her accused family members, they (Gujarat police) wrongfully detained me in a lock-up and tortured me," he said in press conference.
Patel claimed that they gave several applications to the Gujarat chief minister's office since 2011 and his wife attended the 'janta darbar' but no response was given from the government.
"But in return, the police only harassed me after he dragged the matter in court," he said.
Patel claimed that unable to bear the agony any further, his wife committed suicide at the chief minister's office in Gandhinagar by consuming poison.
She died on April 28, 2012.
State BJP, however, has rejected all allegations and questioned the motive behind the move by an "unknown person".
"BJP rejects all such allegations as falsehood and I think the motive of this whole move must be questioned.
"Why is he here? Who has sent him? Why he did this press conference in Varanasi and not in Gujarat itself.
"The whole thing should be probed," BJP media in-charge for 'Kashi Prant' unit Sanjay Bharadwaj told PTI.
Patel also claims to have even documented his entire legal struggle, including court cases details, the personal lives of the couple, in a book form, which he claimed, "no one wanted to publish". "So, I opened a publishing house in my late wife's name and did it myself.
"I have also sent copies of the compilation to various heads of State in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pranab Mukherjee, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Anna Hazare, among others," he said.
