A day after the Ram Mandir land scam expose, Opposition leaders, including Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, started mounting pressure of a Supreme Court-monitored probe alleging that the enquiry ordered by the State Government is an eyewash.
Leaders of all the Opposition parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the AAP, questioned how the UP Government officials involved in the scam could probe it.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday ordered a probe after an investigative report found that Government officials and their relatives have purchased land around Ram Mandir construction site post-Ayodhya judgment.
Attacking the Government over the issue, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati has sought Supreme Court intervention in the alleged land scam in Ayodhya.
“It is a serious matter since the names of influential people, including bureaucrats, have emerged in the scam. The Supreme Court should take note of it and the Centre must order a high-level probe. The matter concerns the faith and sentiments of crores of people. A committee of retired judges should be set up to probe the matter,” she said while talking to reporters here on Thursday.
Firing a broadside at the BJP Government, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday alleged the pieces of land of Dalits, which could not have been purchased, were grabbed and demanded the Supreme Court must probe the matter.
Priyanka said almost every household in the country has donated something to the Ram Mandir Trust.
“A door-to-door campaign was held too. It is a matter of devotion and that is being toyed with. The pieces of land of Dalits, which could not have been purchased, were grabbed,” she said. “Some pieces of land were of a lower value and were sold to the Trust at a very high price. It means that there is a scam regarding the money which was collected through the donation,” she added.
Escalating her attack on Yogi-led Government, the Congress general secretary said the matter is being probed at the level of district officers.
“The UP Government said they are ordering an inquiry. Who is probing it?…It is being probed at the level of district officers. Ram Mandir Trust was formed on the basis of the Supreme Court verdict. So, it should be probed by the SC,” she told a press conference.
Similar attack was also made by AAP”s MP Sanjay Singh. “A person from Prayagraj comes to Ayodhya, purchases 21 acres of land from Dalits and then gifts it to a person from Ghaziabad for stamp paper worth Rs 10. The transaction has been made in the name of Maharshi Ramayan Vidya”s name and then the trust sells it to many Government officials. This is illegal and reeks of corruption,” said Singh.
He added, “Yogi has ordered his own officers to probe the land scam. The scam in which BJP MLAs, Mayor, Commissioner, DIG, DM, ADM, SDM are all involved in forgery, cannot be investigated by Yogi”s officials. An SIT should be constituted under the supervision of the Supreme Court and the fraudsters should be put in jail.”
Similarly, SP spokesperson Anurag Bhadauriya said, “In a holy city like Ayodhya, land mafia has been created in Rama Janmabhoomi. The Government officials and their relatives bought it here, but when they got caught, Yogi ordered a probe. A lot of things are being probed, but where are the results?”
It may be mentioned that following reports that elected public representatives and relatives of state government officials bought land parcels in Ayodhya after the November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court verdict clearing construction of a Ram temple in the district, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered an inquiry into transactions and sought a report within a week. The State Government”s revenue department has been asked to conduct an inquiry into the same.
