The BJP has released a video grab of Giri garlanding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a roadshow, while the Congress says that Giri had earlier contested on a BJP ticket.

Family members of Giri, residing in the Subhanpura area, however, disown political affiliation of any kind.

They say that Giri worked for both parties but had left politics long time ago and they are now surprised to see politicians making issue out of his involvement in the hooch tragedy.

They say Giri had a heart-attack a couple of years ago and was inactive for long.

“My brother was never an active politician. He was earlier with the BJP and had contested elections from the Subhanpura area of the city. After that he was with the Congress for some time, but since he was not given any post or role, he had stopped working for the party. After there were some legal complications regarding his business of furnace oil and heart-attack which affected his health a couple of years back, he used to remain at home,” said Bhola Giri, Subhash’s younger brother.

Gujarat Director General of Police S S Khandwawala had, however, said at last Friday press briefing that Chauhan and More had met in a Junagadh jail last year. “Chauhan asked More to introduce him to someone who deals in chemicals illegally. When the two came out of jail, More took Chauhan to one of his acquaintances, a resident of Vadodara, Rakesh Giri. Rakesh in turn introduced Chauhan to his uncle Subhash, who later introduced Chauhan to Jayesh Thakkar.”

Though the Ahmedabad Crime Branch have arrested Chauhan, More and Thakkar along with 10 others, the uncle-nephew duo are still at large.

Charges flew over Giri’s political affiliations after Vadodara BJP Parliamentarian Balkrishna Shukla on Sunday released a CD showing him garlanding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his roadshow in October 2007.

The video clipping, which was taken at the Sardar Chowk in Subhanpura, shows Giri coming forward to garland Rahul Gandhi as soon as the latter descends down a ladder after garlanding a statue of Sardar Patel. Though senior party leaders have admitted that Giri had garlanded Rahul, they have refused to admit that he was part of the party even in 2007, when Rahul had come to Vadodara.

The then chairman of Seva Dal, Maulin Vaishnav told Newsline: “During Rahul Gandhi’s road show in the 2007 Assembly elections, Giri was never considered among the list of persons who would form the core circle. It was just that he was present at the spot and simply garlanded Rahul Gandhi. It does not mean that he is a member of the Congress or holds any position in the party.”

GPCC president Siddharth Patel also denied Subhash’s association with the Congress in anyway, but could not explain how he was found sporting a Congress sash during Rahul Gandhi’s roadshow.

Vadodara city Congress president Suresh Patel said though Giri might have garlanded Rahul Gandhi, but he is known as a BJP man. “He had contested the corporation elections from the BJP in 1995, and more than Congress it is the BJP which should be worried about the party’s image. We have no records of Giri being a Congress member or even holding any post.”