BJP involved in illegal land deals in Haryana: Congress

The Congress party here on Tuesday alleged that top political functionaries of the BJP government in Haryana were involved in illegal property transactions and promoting realtors in the state.

Coming out in support of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, who is facing probe into controversial land deals, state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said it was not an issue now as the government functionaries were involved in illegal land deals.

"They have ordered a probe into the land deals by Vadra. We have no problem with the probe. Nothing will come out of it. But what about the deal of 1,700 acres in Sohna and Fatehpur Jharsa (in Gurgaon) by the present government," he said when asked about a commission in Haryana probing Vadra's controversial land deals.

"It's the tip of an iceberg," Tanwar added.

He said the 'girdawari' (village accountant) record of 1,700 acres of the Sohna Municipal Committee land was changed illegally to favour private parties.

The Congress allegation assumes significance as the Punjab and Haryana High Court on May 29 put on hold all demolition and construction activity at Fatehpur Jharsa till July 27, the next date of hearing.

The court order came in the wake of a petition by residents of Fatehpur Jharsa village, whose hutments were razed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) on May 15.

Tanwar said the government should also conduct an inquiry into these illegal land transactions.

He alleged that top political functionaries in the state were involved in illegal property transactions and promoting realtors.

Slamming the government for stopping the public schemes launched by the previous Congress government, Tanwar said: "In fact, in the past seven months of its tenure, no new scheme has been started (by the BJP government)."