Surprised by Jairam’s charge, Congress are national looters: Anurag Thakur

Congress continued to target BJP by raking up the row surrounding allotment of land to Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association during its rule and accused former chief minister P K Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur of involvement in a land scam that caused a loss of Rs 100 crore to the state exchequer.

Referring specifically to the alleged charge that Dhumal and he had indulged in irregularities in the lease of land to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) in 2002, and to the fact that the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress Government has ordered a vigilance inquiry in the matter, Thakur, seeking to come clear on the issue, said, “We have spent only Rs”.

Calling the BJP and its leaders habitual offenders, Ramesh said: “Dhumal and his son Thakur together have misused the public property and the office held by them”.

The transfer, he said, smacks of “blatant constitutional impropriety, parent conflict of interest, glaring misuse of office, usurpation of public property and duping of public exchequer”. Mr Thakur, the secretary of the Board of Cricket Control of India, was the president of HPCA at the time. “He proceeded to grant and transfer virtual ownership of almost 16 acres of prime land at a pittance of Rs 1 per month for a period of 99 years”, he alleged, and went on to say: “This is conflict of interest”.

Dhumal maintained that since the land was given on lease and not on outright sale its title still remains with the government and there is no ground to allege that “my family had grabbed the land or assets -which belong to the HPCA”.

Hitting back at the Congress, the BJP said the Congress was running out of issues.

Taking a jibe at Modi and other BJP senior leaders for “arrogant refusal” in affixing responsibility of union Minister Sushma Swaraj, and Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ramesh said: “Will he (Modi) take action now?”

The present government registered a case on June 26, 2013, related to the tapping.

According to him, the land could have been leased only at 18 per cent of the latest highest market value.

He said that since 2002, Dhumal and his son Thakur misused power “in the name of cricket in Himachal Pradesh”. He said Mr Thakur had later changed the name of Himalayan Players Cricket Association, the company, to Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (the society).

HPCA had handed over a hotel and a spa constructed on the land to the company in gross violation of the cabinet decision.

“By doing so, a Section 25 company and the original society have the same name, i.e. HPCA, as also the same office-bearers and members”, Ramesh said.