By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday demanded an independent probe into “undue benefits” in the land deal between Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty major DLF.
BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar condemned the transfer of IAS official Ashok Khemka, who was Haryana’s director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records cum inspector general of Registration but was transferred Oct 11, just three days after he ordered a probe into the deal.
Before moving out of his post, Khemka Monday cancelled the mutation of the prime plot in Manesar area of Gurgaon that was sold by Vadra’s firm to DLF for Rs.58 crore.
Javadekar said there was clear indication of a message in the transfer of the Haryana official.
“There is a message in the transfer… that if you do something against the first family of the Congress, you will suffer. You will be punished, you will be victimised,” Javedakar told reporters here.
He said the Haryana government was not probing the “undue benefits” in the land deal and instead was inquiring into the conduct of the officer.
He said the Haryana government was trying to save Vadra and alleged that the Congress had an “Emergency mindset”.
“The Congress is in complete shambles, they do not know what to do next.
“What is needed is an impartial probe. One officer with integrity has decided to take suo motu action… Instead of acting on his direction, the government acted against him and transferred him, that too by sending orders at 10 p.m. This is nothing but Emergency mindset,” Javadekar said.
The BJP leader also demanded a special investigation team to probe allegations that a private firm made payments to a “VBS” during the tenure of Congress leader Virbhadra Singh as the central steel minister.
Targeting Virbhadra Singh, a key Congress leader in Himachal Pradesh, Javadekar said it did not matter how the former wrote his initials but how the steel company which paid the money had made an acronym of his name.
A news channel reported Friday that Ispat Industries Ltd allegedly made payments to bureaucrats and officials in steel and coal ministries during 2009-10.
Javadeker said the books of accounts made by the firm of its payments was admissible as evidence as there was a serial number, date of payment or receipt, the person to whom the payment was made and the person who authorised the said payment.