No irregularities in land deal: Bajwa

Sunday, 03/11/2013

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131103/punjab.htm#1

Chandigarh : Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa today decided to clear the air regarding some of his land deals in Chandigarh's periphery. However, it finally emerged that not only was the title of this land (shamlat deh/mushtarkan malkan) in dispute and the case pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, but also that this land was sold to him by his own brother, Fatehjung Bajwa.

If summoning all the Congress MLAs for a show of strength and solidarity was what Bajwa was looking for today, he again failed in his mission. Most of the MLAs recused themselves from the breakfast invite sent out to them by the state Congress chief.

Sources said only eight MLAs went to his house in the morning where he tried to win their support by saying the matter was sub judice. Bajwa also clarified first to his party MLAs there, and to the media later, that it was only the land owned by his brother Fatehjung Bajwa and sister-in-law that had been a part of the investigation by the Justice Kuldip Singh panel. "The report of the panel was read out in the Assembly yesterday, but it is only the land owned by my sister-in-law, which has been examined by the panel. My name does not figure in that report," he thundered.

Though 23 MLAs and some other party leaders came for a press conference called by Bajwa after the breakfast meet, most of them did not utter a word in his support. These 23 MLAs, including the Congress Legislature Party chief Sunil Jakhar, were seated with the PPCC president as he clarified that all transactions for buying the land were through cheques, and not cash, as alleged by Revenue Minister Bikramjit Singh Bajwa yesterday.

But later, most of them individually told The Tribune that since Bajwa had not bothered to clarify (to them) that the land deals were above board, they could not defend him either today or earlier during the Assembly session.

Bajwa said that though the company, PCB Realty, was started with a paid up capital of Rs 1 lakh initially, being a director, he had given unsecured loans worth Rs 3 crore to the company through bank transactions, which also reflected in his income tax returns.

However, Bajwa could not explain why he bought this land, whose title was under dispute.

"At the time, I bought this land, I was unaware that there was any dispute regarding its title. But there is no stamp duty evasion as this land falls under PLPA (Punjab Land Preservation Act) and I had paid the stamp duty as per the collector rate," he said.

Asked if he had been duped by the sellers and about the identity of the sellers of this land, Bajwa admitted his brother was one of the sellers of this land. He questioned the government on now referring to the Justice Kuldip Singh report on VIPs acquiring land in Chandigarh's periphery even as the SAD BJP government had itself filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court questioning the need for forming this panel.

"This is political vendetta at its worst. They have raked up this whole issue to deviate from other key issues affecting Punjab and to stop me from questioning the poor governance in the state. Why did they not reveal that the Justice Kuldip Singh report also mentions the names of the Badals, Sikander Singh Maluka and DGP Sumedh Singh Saini for illegally acquiring land," he said.

While most of the MLAs remained tightlipped as Bajwa explained the land dispute, Lal Singh, who has himself been a former Revenue Minister, did make a feeble attempt to say that the 22.5 acres bought by Bajwa was mushtarkan malkan, and not shamlat deh. He, however, withdrew once it was clarified that now mushtarkan malkan land was categorised as shamlat deh only.

As a result, Bajwa was left alone to defend himself and led the charge against Revenue Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia, SAD treasurer and realtor NK Sharma and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. He accused them of monopolising the cable, transport and mining business and accused Sharma of being the Badals' front man for acquiring land in Zirakpur and Dera Bassi.