SURAT, June 27: Former GIDC chairman C R Patil appears to be paying the price for his ``secret'' meeting last week with several BJP leaders, with process houses owned by him being raided by officials on charges of having violated pollution control norms.

It was only last week that Vadodara MLA Jaspal Singh was reportedly deputed by Keshubhai Patel to check the RJP's growth and woo its supporters. He met Patil, a fence-sitter, at the latter's office on the Udhna-Magdalla road.

Others who reportedly attended the meeting include RJP MLA K C Patel, BJP's suspended MLA from Mangrol Raman Chaudhary, Kamrej MLA Dhanji Rathod, Surat district panchayat chief Harshad Chaudhary and former district unit chief Raman Jani. The agenda: to plot the downfall of the Vaghela Government.

Though Patil, a former BJP treasurer, refused to comment on the meeting's outcome, he suggested that ``enough has been done''.

Patil admitted that the meeting was in keeping with Keshubhai's offer to welcome RJP MLAs into the BJP. However, deny the fact that efforts were on to topple the RJP government.

However, barely three days after the meeting, 12 process houses owned by Patil and his supporters in Sachin and Pandesara were served notices for violating pollution control norms.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.