INLD demands probe into Hooda government's land deals

Chandigarh, April 8 (IANS) The main opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana Monday demanded a probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into all land deals done by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government.

"The CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) in its report has mentioned that thousands of acres were allotted to private builders. The matter should be probed immediately as the land scam in Haryana is bigger than the 2G and Coal scam," INLD's state unit president Ashok Arora said. Arora alleged that 350 acres of prime government land was sold to realty company DLF in Gurgaon at throwaway prices.

"The irregularities found in the Robert Vadra (son-in-law of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi) and DLF land deal is only a hint that big land scams have taken place in the state during the Congress regime," the INLD leader said in a statement.

Arora said that working under the pressure of Vadra, the Haryana government had tweaked tender norms in favour of DLF and the land was given under a single tender at throwaway prices.

He added that the government had also helped DLF by owning responsibility to get clearance from environment, defence and civil aviation departments.

The INLD leader also alleged that the Hooda government had forced farmers to sell their land at cheaper rates by misusing the Section 4 and Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act to provide huge benefit to private builders.

Hooda has been heading the Haryana government since March 2005.

The government was left red-faced when the then director general (consolidation) Ashok Khemka cancelled the mutation of the Vadra-DLF land deal worth Rs.58 crore.

Arora said that the Hooda government, while not implementing Khemka's orders, got "clearance" from a committee of senior officials to help Vadra.

It seems the INLD is using the embarrassment caused to the Congress government by Ashok Khemka to its advantage.

It should be so.

The best way to lessen the dirt on yourself is to make the other as dirty as yourself.

The INLD's reputation has been sullied by the teacher's scam and its leader Omprakash Chauthala is still in Jail.

They are hoping to make the people forget their own scam by publicizing the Congress scam.

My intention here is not to support the Congress.

I just want to say that they are all the same.

Omprakash Chauthala himself had transferred Ashok Khemka when the Khemka did not carry out Chauthala's illegal orders.

Khemka's latest transfer is his fourth in less than a year.

He has been transferred 44 times in less than 20 years of service.

It would be interesting to know the reasons for the reason for the transfers and the government and minister of mafia who got him transferred.

I think it would be a lesson for the management school students.