Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli is once again wallowing in a raging controversy. That of the illegal sale of land of Kamla Nehru Educational Society to the family of slain Bundelkhand ravine ranger Dadua.
While both the BJP and the Congress have demanded a high-level probe, the district Congress leaders are antagonised with BJP leader Ajay Agarwal for dragging Sonia Gandhi's name in the row.
BJP leader Agarwal, who contested against Sonia in the 2014 lok Sabha polls, wrote to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday demanding a probe into the land sale to family members of the slain dacoit terming it as 'illegal’.
Sources confirmed on Tuesday that the society had received six bighas or 12450 square metres of land for setting up a girls' college in Civil lines area of
Rae Bareli along the lucknow- Allahabad national highway in 1976 on an yearly rent of Rs 1135. The land was taken from Siddhauli resident Kailash Chandra on a 30-year lease. But no construction was done till date.
In the meantime, eight members of the society died, including former Delhi CM Shiela Dixit's father-in-law Umashanker Dixit, former PM Indira Gandhi's personal assistance Yashpal Kapoor and former Union minister Sheila Kaul. later, the family of Kaul took control of the society in 2003 and a new committee was set up, comprising Vikram Kaul,
Gautam Kaul, Delhi Cricket Association secretary Sunil Dev, former Union minister Salman Khursheed, senior lawyer lalit Bhasin, Anju Kaul and others. It is said that they decided to sell it secretly after getting the land converted into free hold on March 6, 2003.
Instead of setting up the girls' college, the society decided to sell the land for Rs 9.30 crore on March 10, 2016. The market value of the land is about Rs 150 crore and 150 shopkeepers have been occupying the land for the last 40 years.
The agreement to sell the land was made in the name of Dadua's brother and former Samajwadi Party MP Bal Kumar and his MlA son Ram Singh along with Dadua's son Veer Singh.
When the society applied to the district administration for removing 150 'illegal' shops there, an enquiry revealed that the conversion of nazul land into free hold was in fact illegal as the shops had been doing business there for the last 30 years.
Meanwhile, Congress district president Uma Shanker Mishra recently met the DM demanding a probe into the matter. Mishra also strongly protested against the charges made by the BJP leader on Sonia Gandhi dragging her 'unnecessarily' into the controversy.