Alleged land grabbing in MP by Smriti Irani's husband: Congress seeks probe

Randeep Surjewala said state should fulfil its 'rajdharma' in acting against Zubin Irani

The Congress on Thursday sought a probe into the alleged land grabbing by Textiles Minister Smriti Irani's husband Zubin Irani in Madhya Pradesh saying the state should fulfil its "rajdharma" in acting against him.

AICC incharge of communications department Randeep Surjewala said Irani, who has been involved in a row over her assets and qualifications, should alongwith her husband help in accomplishing that "rajdharma" obligation of the state.

"We have seen media reports on alleged land grabbing by Union Minister Smriti Irani's husband. The land belonged to the government. If there is any truth, it is unfortunate and the Madhya Pradesh government should order a thorough probe into it," he told reporters here.

Surjewala also hit out at the BJP alleging that it is using cow protection as an excuse to 'resort to gundayee' (hooliganism).

The Congress leader expressed serious concern over the leak of Aadhar data of crores of Indians and hit out at the government for defending the leak of sensitive information and accused the BJP of "blatantly defying the people's right to privacy".

Responding to a question on Congress-ruled Karnataka framing a new law to protect officials from cow protectionists, he said though the BJP thinks India got its independence on May 26, 2014 unlike in 1947, cow protection laws are in place since 1964 and Section 15 of this law states that officials assigned to protect the provisions of the law will be given protection.

He said it is not for every individual, as projected.

The BJP government, he said, is telling people where to go when, to the extent of even denying one's rights over his/her own body.

"It is time for the Supreme Court to take note of this, and the people of India to rise in unison against this autocratic governance," he said.

On leak of Aadhar data, he said it is shocking and unheard of that the information of 12 crore Aadhar Card holders has been blatantly leaked and is now available to anybody to access and to use and misuse in any manner that they want.

"On one side, we speak about right of privacy, on one side we speak about freedom of expression, on one side we speak about right of life and control over one's body and one's thought and one's food habits and one's clothing and one's customs and one's culture.

"On the other side, the BJP government is blatantly defending leakage of such sensitive information as is available to others which is prone to misuse and which can put an ordinary citizen into a lot of difficulties by misuse," he said.

Surjewala also said that the provision is being "wrongly, maliciously and conspiratorially implemented and interpreted to say wheat is being said and we reject it in toto".

On 'Gau Rakshaks', he said it has become fashionable for certain section of media to twist the truth and to compromise on the truth guided by certain vested interests in the ruling dispensation.