Row in GSCB meeting over Ajay Patel's absence

AHMEDABAD: Executive committee meeting of Gujarat State Co-operative Bank Limited (GSCB), the apex co-operative bank of the state, became controversial over Ajay Patel, chairman of the bank and a close aide of former home minister Amit Shah.
GSEB director and former Amreli MP Viraji Thummer claimed that even though Patel was absent from the meeting, he had not submitted a leave report.BJP-backed director Dolar Kotecha, however, wanted Patel to be regarded as on official leave.
According to Thummer, when he and fellow Congress director Dhirubhai Chavda opposed the move, calling it unconstitutional, Kotecha said he had received a phone call from Patel. "When we demanded to know phone number of Patel, who is wanted and absconding in a criminal case, Kotecha refused," Thummer said.
When TOI contacted Kotecha, he said he had not received any call from Ajay Patel. In fact, the agenda of the meeting was carried on after registering the chairman's absence. "The proceedings of the meeting were then continued under vice-chairman of the bank Shanker Chaudhary. Chavda and Thummer are intentionally feeding wrong information to public, despite the fact that chairman's absence had been taken on record," said Kotecha.
Kotecha also sought to confirm that Patel had not attended previous four meetings of the bank. "However, in the earlier meetings, he had sent his leave report. This is for the first time that he remained absent," Kotecha said.