Jay Shah is in the eye of the storm after ‘The Wire’ questioned his firm’s financial dealings in an article on 8 October. The report alleged that the turnover of his company, Temple Enterprise, increased 16,000 times after the BJP secured power at the Centre in 2014. Its revenue grew from Rs 50,000 in March 2015 to Rs 80.5 crore in 2015-16 while the increase in foreign earnings rose to Rs 51 crore from zero earnings the previous year.
Jay Shah is an engineer by training, with a B.Tech from Nirmala University. After completing his education, he became involved in the family PVC pipe business, but when his father was arrested in the Sohrabbudin fake encounter case, he shifted base from Gujarat to Mumbai. After getting a clean chit, the family moved back to Ahmedabad.
The Quint tried to talk to a few people close to the Shah family to find out more about the 27-year-old son of Amit Shah – and his ambitions.
One source close to his family – who refused to address the allegations against him – praised Jay’s “entrepreneurial spirit”. The person claimed that it was his “independent nature” that made him venture into business in his early 20s.
Amit Shah’s “Obedient Son”?
One may call Amit Shah Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Man Friday or his most-trusted lieutenant, but who does the BJP national president turn to in times of need and support? The answer, seemingly, is his only child, his son Jay.
A source told The Quint that Jay was an "obedient" son who has stood by his father throughout, especially during Shah’s arrest in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh murder case in 2010.
"I’ve known the family since 1987. Amit Shah is a typical Indian family man and whenever I’d meet him, his wife Sonal and Jay were always around. They are inseparable," a source told The Quint on the condition of anonymity.
Jay was around 20 years old and had just completed his engineering from Ahmedabad’s Nirma University when his father was arrested in July 2010.
Jay was to leave for MBA in a US university at the time, but he decided to stay back.
"After Amit Shah's arrest, Jay was a changed man. He was taking care of his family, including his father’s six sisters. He took care of every legal document pertaining to his father’s cases. During hearings, he’d be present in the court... He’s not aggressive like his father," another source close to the family said.
"Typical Amdavadi”
One source claimed that Jay’s ambition is to make money like a “typical Amdavadi”.
“He is a Gujarati baniya who wants to make it big, but is very conscious of every move he makes because of his father's experience,” the source added.
(With inputs from The Free Press Journal)
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