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Friday, Jul 20, 2007
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No letter from Amitabh to Mayawati: official

Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW: The Bahujan Samaj Party Government has denied that film actor Amitabh Bachchan wrote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati informing her of his reported decision to “donate” land at Daulatpur in Barabanki district to the gaon (village) sabha.

Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Shailesh Krishna told newspersons that the Chief Ministry’s Secretariat had received no such letter.He refused to comment further, stating the matter was sub judice. Reports in a secti on of the press said Mr. Bachchan had last week “donated” the Daulatpur land and informed Ms. Mayawati.

The reports attributed the film star’s move to surrender the land in Barabanki district as well as at Pale village in Pune, Maharashtra, to the controversies surrounding his claim as a farmer.

About 4.142 hectares (about 70,000 square feet) at Daulatpur was allotted to Mr. Bachchan in 1983. He bought the land reportedly to establish his credentials as a farmer for buying agricultural land at Pale. Maharashtra’s laws do not permit sale of farm land to non-agriculturists.

The issue surfaced in March 2006 following a query by the Pune Collector to his Barabanki counterpart for knowing about the status of the Daulatpur land. Investigations of the land records by Barabanki District Magistrate Ashish Goel led to the cancellation of the agreement in March, 2006. In November, 2006, Mr. Goel’s successor Rama Shankar Sahu restored status quo ante, quashing his predecessor’s order.

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