Saffron trust won’t accept Jaipur plot

Two days before its third anniversary in power, the BJP in Rajasthan today made an attempt to end the controversy related to the allotment of a plot to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Trust.

Two days before its third anniversary in power, the BJP in Rajasthan today made an attempt to end the controversy related to the allotment of a plot to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Trust. Holding an emergency meeting on Tuesday night, members of the trust decided not to accept the land.

The decision comes at a time when the Vasundhara Raje government, which finds itself in a legal mess with regard to the allotment, is all set to launch its anniversary celebrations on Friday. The decision is a face-saving exercise for both the Chief Minister and her party. Officially, however, the members maintain the decision has been taken following technical conditions imposed by the state and a delay in expediting the lease deed.

In a statement, trust secretary and Jaipur Mayor Ashok Parnami said: “The trust has decided to cancel its claim for seeking concession on land and desired the refund of its security from the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA).”

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Talking to The Indian Express, Parnami said the trust has been in operation since September 2004. “JDA had imposed a clause that if we merge with some other organisation in the future, the land would be taken over by the Government. The trust did not agree to this,” he stated. He denied speculation that Raje might quit as head of the trust.

Meanwhile, Congress insists that the BJP move is an attempt to restore lost image and get out of the legal mess. “The Government found itself in a soup and did not have any answers to the questions raised by us. The decision has been taken to avoid further controversy,” Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president B D Kalla said. Office-bearers in the state BJP refused to talk about the issue saying it did not concern them.

Incidentally, four of the 11 managing committee members of the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Trust are former BJP state unit presidents, while the chairperson is the CM herself. This July, the trust was reportedly allotted over 7,000 sq metres of prime land at Rs 562.50 per sq metre, while the market price is around Rs 40,000 per sq metre. Reports said the trust planned to build the BJP state headquarters on the plot. The rate for the land, allotted by the JDA, had been approved by the Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Home Minister Gulabsingh Kataria, who also happens to be one of the committee members of the trust.

But following a writ petition filed by one Poonam Chand Bhandari, the Rajasthan High Court recently issued show-cause notices to the state and the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with allotment of land at throwaway prices. The petitioner had asked for a case to be registered against the CM under the Anti-Corruption Act.