Opposition slams BJP on illegal land deals in Ayodhya
The Hindu
Congress asks SC to take cognisance of questionable deals; AAP for bulldozing illegal constructions
After several BJP politicians, including an MLA, Mayor, and a former legislator figured in the Ayodhya Development Corporation’s list of people engaged in illegal land deals, the Opposition parties on Monday slammed the BJP and questioned the Narendra Modi government’s silence on the issue.
While the Congress asked the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the questionable land deals, the Aam Aadmi Party demanded that the illegal constructions be bulldozed and questioned why the Uttar Pradesh government was only now waking up to the issue.
Tagging a related news report, which revealed that 40 people had been accused of trading in land illegally in Ayodhya, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet in Hindi, “BJP scam in the name of Maryada Purushottam Lord Ram. Why is Home Minister Amit Shah silent on this?” Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged a “huge property scam” is happening in Ayodhya as her party demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence on the issue.
“We have been saying this since June 2021 when things came to light on how the land scam is happening in Ayodhya but now the Ayodhya development authority has put out a list of 40 people who have been involved in a land scam in the building of the Ram temple and prominent among those are the Ayodhya’s BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, BJP Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay, former BJP MLA Gorakhnath Baba and multiple officers in the Uttar Pradesh government whose relatives have bought land,” Ms. Shrinate said.
Mr. Upadhyay and Mr. Gupta have claimed innocence and alleged foul play in the list of alleged offenders released by the authority.
AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh too said he had been raising this issue since 2022 and that he had also sent a police complaint to the Nagar Kotwali station on June 24, naming Mr. Upadhyay as one of the accused, on which, he claimed no action had been taken yet.
“When I raised my voice, cases were registered against me which even involved cases of sedition. Nine FIRs within one day and a total of 23 FIRs were filed against me but no action was taken against the people against whom I wanted an inquiry to take place,” Mr. Singh said.
The Opposition Congress demanded that the government open the Gandhi Vatika Museum, depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and freedom struggle, built at a cost of ₹85 crore in Jaipur’s Central Park last year, during the Congress-led regime in Rajasthan. The museum has not been opened to the public, reportedly because of the administration’s engagements with the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Almaya Munnettam (Lay People to the Fore), group in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church opposed to the synod-recommended Mass, rejected a circular issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and apostolic administrator Bosco Puthur on June 9 to implement the unified Mass in the archdiocese from July 3.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.