While BJP president Venkaiah Naidu wants to play safe in allotting tickets to those with a criminal background, the party’s Gujarat unit couldn’t care less. It has chosen Morbi MLA Kantibhai Amrutiya, arrested in 1999 for the murder of then Morbi unit chief Prakash Revashia, to lead a section of the Gaurav Yatra.Amrutiya has been given charge of day two — October 28 — of the seventh phase of the yatra. The move has not gone down well with many BJP workers and leaders. ‘‘Everyone knows that he was arrested for his involvement in the Revashia murder case,’’ said a worker. ‘‘Letting him lead the yatra can damage the party’s image and affect its campaign,’’ said another. ‘‘There are many others who could have been chosen.’’A senior police officer said Revashia was killed in Morbi’s main market on September 16, 1999. One Gangram Tapu Prakash, involved in many murder cases, was an accomplice, police sources said. Amrutiya and Tapu had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to kill Revashia, who was gaining popularity, two days earlier. Amrutiya reportedly feared that he would lose his Assembly segment to Revashia.Earlier, Revashia had — in an interview to a local channel — had named Amrutiya as the ‘‘person who wanted to kill him.’’ Amrutiya, who was arrested, got out on bail after 100 days in judicial custody.That wasn’t his only brush with crime. In 1982-83, he reportedly attacked a Harijan youth in Morbi with iron pipes. The youth died 20 days later. The case was never reopened after the IPS officer handling it got transferred.The state BJP leadership doesn’t seem concerned about Amrutiya’s criminal background. Jayanti Barot, convener of Gujarat Gaurav Yatra, said: ‘‘Amrutiya is a BJP worker and can muster support for the party. When assigning responsibilities, we don’t look at the background”
