Gujarat BJP on cheap land to CM's kin: Price fixed in 2011 after district, state penals, Modi Cabinet "cleared" it
Is BJP high command losing faith in Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel? It would seem so, if looks into how it fielded Gujarat BJP spokesperson IK Jadeja, a small fry, to “deny” a top media report, which pointed to a “scam” in which business group associated with her daughter was allocated 250 acres of prime land off Gir lions sanctuary at the rate of just Rs 15 per square metre.
The denial, in a Gujarati language press note, came even as political circles in the state were abuzz with speculation as to who is behind the effort to “dislodge” Anandiben Patel. There was a suggestion that BJP president Amit Shah, Gujarat energy minister Saurabh Patel and national BJP vice president Purshottam Rupala may have “ganged up” against the Gujarat CM.
Jadeja, evading direct reference to the media report, said a Congress press conference on the “scam” was nothing but an indulgence in “mudslinging”, and there was “nothing illegal” about the allocation. However, he did not deny the land was allocated cheap, insisting, “The price was fixed after district and state level committees gave a nod, and the Cabinet approved it”, which happened in 2011 when Narendra Modi was chief minister.
Senior BJP Subramanian Swamy had recently tweeted that a senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel with the help of a Shakuni (a scheming person) was seeking to “topple” Anandiben Patel government. However, on “disclosure” the land scam, he has decided to keep a stoic silence. Other senior BJP leaders have also kept mum.
Meanwhile, referring to the scam, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “This is absolutely shocking. How is it different from Vadra deals?” AAP’s Vikas Yogi told mediapersons that Vadra’s deal was “nothing” compared to the Gujarat scam (click HERE). And the Gujarat AAP declared it would launch an agitation.
Congress leader Anand Sharma termed the revelations “shocking”, and they showed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, “allowed nepotism, conflict of interest and brazen plundering of public land to promote commercial and business interests of entities close to the daughter of the then Revenue Minister present chief minister Anandiben Patel.”
Sharma said, “Allotment of 250 acres of government land next to the Gir lion sanctuary without any valuation or price determination for a pittance was in gross violation of all known procedures and regulations governing allocation of public land in eco sensitive zones.”
“The land was allotted to Wildwoods Resorts & Realties for setting up a resort. The promoters of this firm are close business associates of Anar Patel, the daughter of the current Gujarat CM”, he said, adding, “The estimated market price of this land was to the tune of Rs.50 lakh per acre i.e. a total of Rs 125 crore for 250 acres, but the total amount paid was just Rs 1.25 crore.”
Even even AAP and Congress went public, twitterati criticized the land allocation. Arun Nambiar said, “Hema Malini and Anandiben now in massive Land Scams!”, and Vinod Mehta said, “Adani paid Re1 per Sqm for thousands of acres Land by Modi. Anandiben's daughter paid Rs15 per metres. Some improvement!”
Amidst the political imbroglio being played out in Delhi, interestingly, Anandiben Patel found solace from an unexpected quarter: Parimal Nathwani, Group President of Corporate Affairs at Reliance Industries Ltd, and an independent Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, though belonging to Gujarat.
Nathwani said on his Facebook page: “Is it that children of any Chief Minister or any Minister in the State or a Central Minister have no right to pursue own business? Is it a fault it such high positioned political leaders allow their children to grow independently in the own business?”
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