PM asks EC to look into Vadra-DLF land deal

PM wants Nehru's 125th birth anniversary commemorated with cleanliness awareness programmes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked the Election Commission to take serious note of reports that the Congress government in Haryana has allegedly legitimised a land deal between Robert Vadra and realty major DLF.

On Monday, Modi addressed public rallies in Hisar, Kurukshetra and Faridabad. The PM said the Bhupinder Hooda-led government in Haryana “knows after the elections, the son-in-law (Vadra) will not get any clearances for illegal deals. So, in between the election process, they have dared to take such a decision.”

“I think Hooda was pressurised from the top (Congress leadership) to take such a decision,” said Modi, terming the decision a ‘sin’ and hoped the EC would take ‘serious note’ of the alleged land deal and whether it violated the Model Code of Conduct. According to reports, the deal under question relates to a plot of land in village Shikhopur in Gurgaon. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, had brought out a pamphlet 'Damad shri' detailing Vadra's ostensibly questionable land deals.

However, Haryana chief minister Hooda said in New Delhi that his government has nothing to do with land deals involving Vadra.

“Haryana Government has nothing to do with it (land deals). Whoever is alleging this is misleading (the public). If anybody can prove that even an inch of government land (was used), then I am ready to leave my post today. They can even appeal to the Lok Ayukta,” said Hooda.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said the EC should also look into the PM’s radio broadcast ‘Mann ki Baat’ on October 3 for having violated the model code of conduct.

At his rallies in Haryana on Monday, the PM exhorted people to give the BJP majority in the state Assembly, and throw out “governments run by goons and mafia”. Claiming that he does not believe in politics of untouchability, he suggested the 125th anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru be marked by organising cleanliness awareness programmes in schools.

He said the campaign should run from November 14, Nehru’s birth anniversary, to November 19, Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary. He appealed to the Congress to help in the effort, joking that the party leaders were left with “little work”. Modi and the BJP have rarely, if at all, mentioned either Nehru or Indira when acknowledging the contribution of makers of modern India such as Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and others.

On his third day of election campaigning for the coming Assembly elections in Haryana, Modi reached out to the state’s women. He criticised the social evil of female foeticide. He said nine of the 15 districts of India with the worst data on female foeticide were in Haryana.

“Female foeticide should end. I know it is a difficult task but no people can prosper if they don’t respect their mothers and daughters,” he said. The PM asked Haryana’s women to help him throw out a government that has failed to check atrocities against women, particularly incidents of gang rapes of Dalit women.

In Hisar, the PM spoke on stage with media baron and Essel group chairman Subhash Chandra on his left. Chandra, who hails from Hisar, also addressed the rally. Chandra had announced his support to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi exhorted people in Haryana to ensure a majority for the BJP in the state Assembly. In a reference to Indian National Lok Dal chief Om Prakash Chautala, Modi said he didn’t need support of those dreaming to take the “chief ministerial oath from the prison”. He asked people to bring an end to 25 years of “corrupt and nepotistic governments” in Haryana.