Patna : Bihar’s ruling JD-U and RJD on Friday demanded a probe into the BJP’s land deals worth crores of rupees in different parts of the state ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation announcement.
A local Hindi news channel on Thursday telecast a report that the Bharatiya Janata Party purchased land in 25 districts of Bihar ahead of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8.
BJP legislator Sanjeev Chaurasia, who was reportedly involved in the purchase, said the land deals were for party offices in various districts.
“There is nothing in it, party had purchased the land for its office in different districts, that is all,” he said.
However, Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator Bhai Virendra said that the BJP managed its black money by purchasing land worth crores of rupees ahead of the note ban.
“This move has exposed the fact that BJP was aware of demonetisation and finalised deal for land before it was announced by Modi. This is a serious matter and there should be a high-level probe into it,” he said.
Janata Dal-United legislator and party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar also made similar demands.
“How come BJP purchased land worth crores of rupees in the last week of October and first week of November, just before demonetisation was announced,” he asked.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly Prem Kumar told media that the BJP had purchased land at the circle rate fixed by the government in districts for party offices.
“There is nothing wrong in it,” he said.
Another senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister, Sushil Kumar Modi said if cash payments were made for the purchase as alleged, there should be a probe.
“The probe will establish as to who paid the cash and who received it,” he said.
According to reports, the BJP purchased land in more than two dozen districts, including Saharsa, Patna, Madhubani, Katihar, Madhepura, Lakhisarai, Kishanganj and Arwal.
The size of the plots acquired ranged from 250 sq feet to about half an acre. Their values range between Rs 8 lakh to Rs 1.16 crore. The costliest land was bought at Rs 1,100 per sq feet.