The Hindu : New Delhi News : A new twist to multi-crore land scam case

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Sunday, Aug 05, 2007
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New Delhi

A new twist to multi-crore land scam case

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Strong denials amid charges of “conspiracy to topple Sheila Government”

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit

NEW DELHI: On a day when a court here issued a non-bailable warrant against multi-crore land scam accused Ashok Malhotra and the Central Bureau of Investigation despatched teams to Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to hunt for him, wide fissures came out into the open in the Delhi unit of the Congress. Several senior party leaders rushed to see All-India Congress Committee general secretary Ashok Gehlot to clarify their position amid charges that they had sought to topple the Sheila Dikshit Government by offering vehicles recovered during the CBI raids on Malhotra’s premises to various MLAs.

Among those who met Mr. Gehlot at the 24 Akbar Road AICC headquarters after seeking an appointment with him were Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken, Member of Parliament Jagdish Tytler, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ram Babu Sharma and Delhi Ministers A. K. Walia, Haroon Yusuf and Arvinder Singh Lovely.

All these leaders conveyed to Mr. Gehlot that ever since the Ashok Aggarwal case came to light, the Chief Minister’s camp had been trying to sully their image by targeting them. To begin with, they said, news was deliberately leaked to a TV channel that attempts were being made to topple the Sheila Dikshit Government. “This when everyone knows that in the Congress it is the party high command that has the final word on the leadership issue,” they argued.

These leaders also charged that three MLAs – Kiran Walia, Brahm Pal and Veer Singh Dhingan – had been used in the ploy to give out statements that offers had been made to them on the sly. They said “it was ironic that such allegations had been levelled when most MLAs in Delhi are very well off and would never, at least for a vehicle, go against the Government”.

Moreover, the leaders who met Mr. Gehlot asserted that when the Chief Minister’s Office itself had recommended some of the fancy car numbers for Malhotra, how could the same vehicles be used against her.

Following the meeting, Mr. Gehlot declared that “there is no conspiracy to topple the Government”.

``The issue,” he said, “is being diverted from land scam to the issuance of fancy numbers for cars by the Government”.

Later, Mr. Gehlot -- who was sent a formal letter by Mr. Sharma over the issue -- is understood to have apprised the party high command of the day’s developments as also the request of the leaders who met him to discuss the issue with the top party bosses. Ms. Dikshit expressed surprise at the developments and denied any knowledge of any “conspiracy” to topple her Government. “I am surprised. I am not aware,” she said.

Mr. Maken later said the party leaders were of the view that this was a perfect opportunity to turn the tables on the BJP as the land scam had taken place between 2000 and 2002 when it was in power in the Centre.

He claimed that he had personally made efforts to ensure that all the Delhi Congress leaders worked in tandem to expose the BJP over the issue.

However, he lamented, some leaders wanted to keep their distance from the matter. “Anyone trying to politicise the issue is directly or indirectly supporting Ashok Malhotra,” he said, adding that the party should expose those involved in the colossal land scam.

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