As per reports, on July 13, former Union Minister and 2-time Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki published a public notice in newspapers in which he warned everyone against entering into any financial or other transactions with his estranged wife.
In the notice issued by Kiran Tapodhan, Solanki’s advocate, it was mentioned, “Reshmaben (Solanki’s wife) has not been living with my client for around four years. She has been behaving inconsistently while living separately from him”.
The notice further read, “My client being a politically and socially respectable person, nobody should conduct financial or other such transactions with his wife misusing his name and identity. It will not be my client’s responsibility if anybody does anything like that. If my client finds out about any such transactions, he will take legal action against the person.”
Solanki has represented the Anand Lok Sabha constituency twice. His lawyer said in a statement, “They have been living separately for years. The notice has been issued as per the instructions of our client. The dispute between the two has been going on for four years. As it is a family case, I cannot say anything special in this matter. It is important for Solanki to be cautious as he is a respected person and anybody can misuse his name. We will follow my client’s instructions in the near future.”
Political parties staying away from the matter
So far, Congress and BJP have not commented on the issue. Manish Doshi, Congress spokesperson, was quoted by Times of India saying, “It is Bharatbhai’s issue. The party has no role to comment. He is contributing effectively to the party.” On the other hand, Yamal Vyas, BJP spokesperson, said, “It concerns his personal life, and the BJP has no comment. If it were a public issue, we would have commented.”
Solanki and caste politics in Gujarat
Notably, Solanki, the son of the former Chief Minister of Gujarat Madhavsinh Solanki, is known for playing caste politics. He had brought in the ‘KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi, Muslim)’ theory for vote bank politics. Interestingly, Aam Aadmi Party, trying to establish its roots in Gujarat, seems to be carrying forward Solanki’s legacy of caste politics in the state.