New Delhi, June 24: The Congress on Wednesday once again trained it’s guns at the BJP and demanded a judicial probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the revelations of massive land purchase by the family members of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
The party also questioned the silence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the matter, suggesting its complicity and slammed it for bringing the OBC card.
Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson and Chairman of the AICC Media and Publicity Department Pawan Khera, along with Madhya Pradesh Congress unit president Jitu Patwari, alleged that the large-scale land purchases by the family members of the MP CM had taken place under the patronage of the BJP and the RSS.
Taking a swipe at the RSS, Khera, who has also been elected as a Rajya Sabha MP said, “Sangham Sharnam Gachchhami.”
He alleged that those involved in land grabbing had the protection of the ‘Sangh’ (the RSS).
He took a pot shot at the RSS for not registering itself, saying it wanted all the authority but no responsibility and no accountability.
Khera said that the BJP had betrayed the religious faith of people, pointing out not only had family members of the MP CM purchased land in sacred city Ujjain, but those managing the Ram Temple in Ayodhya had also looted the donations offered by the devotees.
He also likened the land purchase by CM’s family with that of “insider trading” in the stock market.
He pointed out that his family obviously had prior knowledge that particular areas would be developed and they had bought land in advance.
He said, the Chief Minister has the knowledge of the upcoming projects, influence and power, which has been grossly misused.
Questioning the BJP’s silence on the matter and its tendency to protect those accused of wrong doings, Khera compared it with the Congress decision to remove Ashok Chavan as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after allegations surfaced regarding his mother-in-law owning an apartment in Adarsh Housing Society in the western state.
Meanwhile, Patwari took a dig at the silence of the BJP and the BJP led state government, pointing out that more than 30 hours had passed since the publication of a news report on the land purchases by the Chief Minister and his relatives.
He asked, if the report is incorrect, why no action has been taken against the media house and why no defamation case has been filed.
He also ridiculed the MP BJP president for attempting to divert attention from the issue by saying that Mohan Yadav was being targeted as he belonged to the OBC community.
“Does being an OBC mean one can resort to wrongdoing?” he asked.
Patwari also fired several salvos to the Chief Minister asking him to provide straight answers.
He asked whether the CM’s family had actually purchased the land or not.
He also sought clarification on whether the corridor and development policies had been altered, and whether the timelines of these projects can be made public.
The Congress leader then asked if everything is transparent, then can the BJP order a judicial probe and can the Chief Minister issue a white paper detailing the land his family has owned since 2023.
The Congress leader also said that the Ujjain land grab scandal was just the first in the series, and disclosed that recently two more scams had come to light.
One, he said, was linked to the “transfer industry” involving six departments to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore, and the other was related to handing over land worth Rs 500 crore to a trust for just Re 1, one of whose members is the CM’s cultural adviser.