A day after Calcutta High Court struck down scores of land allotments made by the then left Front Government on grounds of "arbitrariness" that betrayed "conspiratorial appropriation of State wealth" by "those in power", former Bengal Housing Minister Gautam Deb who seemed to be at the receiving end of the order on Thursday hit back with vengeance at the Mamata Banerjee Government for "hatching conspiracy to put him in jail."
The Court would not accuse — who was also the ex-officio chairman of Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation that allotted the lands to a set of politicians, bureaucrats, judges, players, media men — of financial irregularities. But at the same time it maintained: apart from taking bribes political favouritism also amounted to corruption.
Justice Sanjiv Banerjee ruled the 2011 land distribution using discretionary powers by Deb who is also top Marxist leader as "most capricious, inequitable and feudal" adding distribution of land in such a manner to people "from judges to politicians, IAS and IPS officers … sportspersons" betrayed "conspiratorial appropriation of State wealth" by those in power.
The Judge not only quashed the allotments but also directed the HIDCO to publish the names of the beneficiaries in two largely circulated newspapers. Incidentally, those who got lands included a current Supreme Court Judge, a number of High Court Judges, a couple of Bengal Ministers and MlAs of the ruling Trinamool Congress and a galaxy of senior IAS and IPS officers including Kolkata Police Commissioner.
Itself sunk neck-deep in corruption charges, the Trinamool Congress which could have benefitted maximum from the judgment literally glossed over the judgment an act which the pundits said could have maligned its own people more than the left.
"The Trinamool Government had initially brought the suit to victimise the left but now they have fallen in their own trap as most of those who were benefitted from it were its own men, bureaucrats and judges.
Deb in his part hit back a day after the judgment saying he abided by the Supreme Court ruling that favoured 5 percent discretionary power for the chairman. "I followed the order and worked accordingly not benefitting personally" he said adding discretion was an important factor in administrative decisions.
"Going by the Supreme Court order, I had classified politicians, bureaucrats, players, journalists, judges and others before allotting them land within the 5 per cent discretionary quota." Rajarhaat was a model unto itself where not a single penny was spent by the Government and India's second biggest township was developed, he said.
Attacking the Chief Minister he said "while between 2003 and 2010, I gave away 105 plots of lands and between 2011 and 2014 the Chief Minister has given away 147 plots" adding he would file an appeal in the case.
However, Trinamool sources said they would probe about which property developer had received lands under this scheme.