New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday stepped up pressure on beleaguered Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, producing fresh documents in support of its claim that the Dholpur Palace is a state-owned property.
The party also demanded an independent probe into the entire controversy.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh produced documents, allegedly showing that Raje’s son Dushyant Singh and his father Hemant Singh reached a compromise on only the movable properties of the Dholpur Palace whereas the palace itself was a public property.
“We will keep disclosing information until Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a statement and orders a probe into the matter,” he said.
“Until there is a closure to this issue, the Congress will keep bringing out disclosures,” the Congress leader and former union minister added.
Ramesh said that a 1949 document showed that the city palace of Dholpur was a state property but the then Maharaja Udaibhan Singh was to remain in possession and use the property during his lifetime.
Responding to Bharatiya Janata Party claims that when National Highways Authority of India acquired land near the palace, the compensation had gone to Raje’s son Dushyant Singh, Ramesh said there was a CBI case challenging the grant of compensation to him.
“On April 10, 2013, two persons complained to the CBI that this land was illegally acquired. Dushyant Singh is not the owner,” Ramesh said.
The senior Congress leader said that the prime minister and the union home minister, under whom the CBI functions, need to answer questions about the fate of the complaint.