Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today dubbed as "outrageous" the BJP's demand for resignation of Ahmed Patel from the Rajya Sabha over the issue that a suspected ISIS operative arrested recently used to work at a hospital where the latter had been a trustee.
"I am amazed by this kind of outrageous demands. Ahmed Patel was a trustee of the hospital and had resigned in 2015. This person who was arrested seems to have joined the hospital as a technician last year and had resigned a couple of days prior to his arrest," Chidambaram told reporters here.
"Now, if somebody who has joined in the last one year as a technician has ISIS connect, then how a trustee of three years ago is responsible," he asked.
Yesterday, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani demanded Patel's resignation as Rajya Sabha MP, alleging that a suspected ISIS operative arrested recently used to work at a hospital where Patel had been a trustee earlier.
Patel had rejected the charge as "completely baseless" and urged the BJP not to politicise matters pertaining to national security and divide the peace-loving Gujaratis.
Rupani was referring to the recent arrest of two suspected ISIS operatives by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). As per the FIR, one of the accused, Kasim Stimberwala, used to work as a technician at Sardar Patel Hospital in Ankleshwar town of Bharuch district.