Cong demands resignation of Gujarat CM, targets PM too

Congress today latched on to a controversy surrounding Anar Patel, daughter of Gujarat chief Minister Anandiben Patel, to put some questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demand a Supreme Court-monitored SIT probe and resignation of the Gujarat CM.
Asking Modi to "come clean" on the issue, the party sought to know from him whether he was aware of "clear conflict of interest" of the then Revenue Minister Anandiben Patel while allocating government land near Gir Lion Sanctuary to a company which allegedly has close business links with Anar Patel.
"Was this allocation based on a Cabinet decision and endorsed by (then) Chief Minister (Modi) and whether conflict of interest, if any, was disclosed?" said senior Congress leader Anand Sharma at the AICC briefing.

He said the issue would "definitely" be raised in the budget session of Parliament as it pertained directly to the Prime Minister "who has claimed that he has zero tolerance towards corruption".
Sharma said the truth will emerge only through an independent probe by a Supreme Court-monitored SIT as agencies like CBI and ED cannot be trusted.
"We demand that a SIT monitored by the Supreme Court be established for a time-bound probe in the entire matter. For a fair probe, the Gujarat CM must resign," he said.

Quoting information available in public domain, he claimed that in 2010, Gujarat government allotted 250 acres of land next to Gir Lion Sanctuary to Wildwoods Resorts and Realties Pvt Ltd for setting up a resort which was allotted at a price of Rs 15 per square metre or Rs 60,000 per acre.

"Total price of the land, thus, came to only Rs 1.5 crore whereas the estimated market price of this land was to the tune of Rs 50 lakh per acre -- a total of Rs 125 crore for 250 acres.
The company then purchased adjoining agricultural land measuring 172 acres taking the total of land owned by it to 422 acres, Sharma alleged.
As non-farmers are not permitted to purchase agricultural land, the company was granted permission to purchase private agricultural land. In March, 2011, the state government permitted conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural as purchased by the company.

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Meanwhile, ruling BJP in Gujarat came out in support of the Chief Minister and said the charges levelled by Congress against her were "false and fabricated".
Anandiben's kin was not in the picture when the land was alloted, the party claimed.
BJP said Congress does not have any proof to prove alleged irregularities in land allotment.
In a statement issued in Ahmedabad, State BJP spokesperson I K Jadeja said the allegations are a "heinous" attempt by Congress to unnecessarily drag the CM and her daughter into the issue and malign their public image.
"These are baseless allegations by Congress as they have failed to provide any proof to back their claims. All procedures were followed in allotting that land. Cabinet approved the allocation only after valuation was done through a foolproof three-tier system," said Jadeja.