Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Jan, 28
“While the BJP had been aggressively trumpeting the issue of massive encroachments of state and Forest lands in J&K during the erstwhile regime, it has suddenly gone silent after the names of its own leaders especially an Ex-MLA figured in the nasty deals. BJP which had made Roshni scam as its major poll blank has abruptly come on the back foot after the most sensational disclosure by the govt itself revealing the revenue records showing 9 Kanals and 14 marlas of state land having been illegally usurped and subsequently regularized by the family of an Ex-BJP MLA merely for Rs. 970. And while the BJP leaders hurled the choicest of invectives upon opposition leaders describing them as land mafia, it has fialed to utter even a single word against the land encroachers belonging to its own party.
This not only shows the double standards of BJP but has further revealed the true face of the corrupt saffron leaders behind their deceptive facades”. This was stated by Mr. Rajesh Padgotra Provincial President JKNPP while addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Accusing the BJP leaders of having filled their own coffers and raised huge assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, Mr. Padgotra said that apart from regularizing land under the nasty Roshni scheme these BJP leaders had encroached huge chunks of State and Forest lands.
He said that RTI replies in his possession indicated that these BJP leaders had been using their political connections and local officers to grab state lands worth crores with none to take cognizance in view the shelter and patronage of the ruling dispensation enjoyed by them.
He further displayed before the media a complaint of 33 unemployed youth who claimed to have been duped by the said Ex-MLA and huge amount extorted from them in the name of providing them govt Jobs.
Pointing towards the CBI probe initiated against the opposition leaders, the NPP leader Gagan Pratap Singh expressed his dismay that while Ch. Lal Singh was being investigated and quizzed by the central agency of holding land in excess of 100 standard Kanals in the name of violation of Agrarian Reforms Act, the BJP leaders falling in the same category had been granted immunity. He claimed that he was in possession of an RTI reply wherein the father of Ex-BJP MLA from Ramnagar was shown to be in possession of 128 Kanals and 12½ Marlas of land including 22 Kanals and 15 Marlas of State Land illegally encroached by the family of the said MLA and additional 9 Kanals and 14 Marlas having been usurped under nasty Roshni scheme. How and in what circumstances has the said Ex-BJP MLA been exonerated from legal action despite his name surfacing in the Roshni scam and illegal encroachment of the state land by his family.
The said MLA further constructed huge bunglows after becoming MLA and used huge quantity smuggled deodar scants for the wood work therein with none to take cognizance.
He had withdrawn huge subsidy from Agriculture and Horticulture Deptts that was actually meant for poor and BPL families. While seeking CBI enquiry into the omissions and commissions of the BJP Ministers and MLAs, the NPP leaders called upon the Lt Governor to respond to the corrupt practice of the saffron leaders of J&K.
Mr. Surinder Chouhan, District President (Jammu Rural); Mr. Shankar Dass, ex-Sarpanch and President (Kissan Sangathan) and Mr. Gurdeep Singh, Youth Secretary (Jammu Rural) were also present in the press conference.
