UPP, UWP eyeing to take political mileage in Mehul Choksi case

Caribbean: The opposition parties in Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica are in full attempts of grabbing political mileage by supporting the Indian fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi. 

Mehul Choksi is being seen as millions of dollars of election funding by the opposition parties of the small Caribbean island nations. Even though Choksi is a fugitive, he still has a much greater net worth than many can imagine.

It was alleged that the opposition leader of UPP, Jamale Pringle had an under table meeting with the family of fugitive Mehul Choksi and has made a special unofficial funding agreement with them to raise the voice of Choksi in the parliament.

Whether it is the United Progressive Party (UPP) of Antigua and Barbuda or the United Workers Party (UWP) of Dominica, the two are on the race track to win a spot to back Mehul Choksi as they aspire to receive his support in their future political endeavours, these claims are made by some Caribbean political strategists with years of experience in the region. 

While Mehul Choksi is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda, he had recently been charged with illegal entry in Dominica. Recently the United Progressive Party (UPP) of Antigua released a press statement opposing the extradition of Choksi to India.

The story of the United Workers Party (UWP)- the opposition party of Dominica is likewise, where the party leader and other members are standing in support of Mehul Choksi, they are also coming up with several conspiracy theories to support their claims.

“Opposition parties or the ruling governments must understand the sensitivity of the case before supporting a fugitive who is a most wanted man in India. People are smart enough to understand why a politician is supporting a criminal background man and this might end up damaging the political image of the party/parties,” said Caribbean political analyst. 

While the High court of justice in Dominica have stayed the extradition orders of Choksi, the case will again be heard on June 02, 2021. 

Mehul Choksi's alleged abduction from Antigua and arrest in Dominica have created a big fuss in the political environments of the two Caribbean countries, with the opposition supporting a criminal who defrauded the Panjab National Bank (PNB) with US $2 billion and allegedly defrauded money of thousands of families in the country. He is among the most wanted persons in India following the PNB scam. 

India is among the largest economies in the world; it also supported the Caribbean region in the fight against COVID-19. Hundreds of thousands of vaccines were delivered to Caribbean countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, through the Indian government's vaccine maitiri initiative. It seems like the opposition parties of these countries are supporting the wrong side of the story.