Congress seeks police probe against BMC chief in 'landscam'
Mumbai, Aug 1 : The Mumbai Congress on Wednesday demanded stringent legal action against civic chief Ajoy Mehta and others after the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently lost a prime plot worth Rs 500 crore to a private party.
A delegation led by Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam met Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I, Abhishek Trimukhe and handed over a formal two-page complaint seeking action against the BMC Commissioner and other senior officials.
"The BMC Commissioner himself, along with some senior officials, is responsible for this land scam. We have requested the police to treat Mehta and these officials from the Development Plan Department as accused," Nirupam told mediapersons after submitting his complaint.
He said the Congress has also demanded a proper police investigation to ascertain whether a BMC peon named Valmiki, who was handling the file pertaining to this particular case, died an accidental death after falling from a running train or it was a murder.
The plot, measuring around 13,000 square metre, or nearly 3.20 acre, is situated in Jogeshwari and had been under acquisition by the BMC after it was reserved for a hospital and housing for homeless people.
Giving a background of the case, Nirupam said that the original owner of the land, Gyanprakash Shukla, had approached the Bombay High Court in 2014 after the BMC failed to claim the land for 10 years, after the statutory acquisition period ended.
In the high court, the BMC remained unrepresented, and consequently lost the case, after which Mehta reportedly stated that the civic body "shouldn't challenge" the matter in the Supreme Court.
Shockingly, he added that the BMC was not represented even in the Supreme Court, which dismissed the case and the civic body forfeited the plot of land worth around Rs 500 crore.
"Thereafter, the BMC Commissioner sought to pin the entire blame on the legal department, accusing them of altering his notings on the file -- from 'should challenge' to 'shouldn't challenge'. This was not an issue of 'mishandling', but a clear conspiracy by him and senior officials," Nirupam alleged.
He added that given the high stakes involved, the Commissioner should have personally monitored the case, and since his role is "highly suspect", he needs to be probed.
The Congress demanded that the police file an FIR against Mehta and others, to which DCP Trimukhe sought a month's time to investigate the entire case.
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Cong cites Kangana's purported remarks to accuse BJP of wanting to bring back repealed farm laws
New Delhi, Sep 24: The Congress on Tuesday cited BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's purported remarks on farm laws to allege that the ruling party was making efforts to bring back the three laws that were repealed in 2021, and asserted that Haryana will give a befitting reply to it.
The Congress shared on X an undated video of Ranaut in which she is purportedly saying in Hindi, "Farm laws that have been repealed should be brought back. I think this may get controversial. The laws in farmers' interest be brought back. Farmers should themselves demand this (to bring farm laws back) so that there is no hindrance to their prosperity.
"Farmers are a pillar of strength in India's progress. Only in some states, they had objected to farm laws. I appeal with folded hands that farm laws should be brought back in the interest of farmers."
In a post in Hindi along with the video, the Congress said, "The three black laws imposed on farmers should be brought back: BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has said this. More than 750 farmers of the country were martyred, only then did the Modi government wake up and these black laws were withdrawn."
Now BJP MPs are planning to bring back these laws, the Congress alleged.
"The Congress is with the farmers. These black laws will never return, no matter how hard Narendra Modi and his MPs try," the opposition party said on X.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also shared the video of Ranaut on X and said, "'All three farm laws should be brought back': BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. More than 750 farmers were martyred while protesting against the three black farmer laws. Efforts are being made to bring them back."
"We will never let that happen. Haryana will answer first," she said in an apparent reference to the assembly polls in Haryana.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also shared the video on X and said it was the BJP's "real thinking".
"How many times will you deceive the farmers, you two-faced people?" Khera said in a post in Hindi.
The three laws -- Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act -- were repealed in November 2021.
The farmers' protest started at the fag-end of November 2020 and ended after Parliament repealed the three laws. The legislations came into force in June 2020 and were repealed in November 2021.
“तीनों किसान क़ानून वापस लाये जाने चाहिए” : BJP MP कंगना रनौत
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) September 24, 2024
जिन तीन काले किसान विरोधी क़ानूनों की मुख़ालिफ़त करते 750 से ज़्यादा किसान शहीद हो गए
उनको दोबारा से लाने की कोशिश की जा रही है. हम ऐसा कभी नहीं होने देंगे
सबसे पहला जवाब हरियाणा देगा pic.twitter.com/kRAkRuE2cc
