The Congress has alleged that Union HRD minister Smriti Irani was trying to make false charges against the Gandhi family over the issue of the land controversy in Amethi involving the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust.
“Ms Irani is taking inspiration from a person in 7 Race Course, whom we now called Mauni Baba,” asserted senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh while reacting on the charges against the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust. RsRs”Smriti Irani toh galti sey bhi sach nahi bolti...all these allegations are totally baseless,” targeted Ramesh adding that Irani is the one who goes to Yale University for six days and tweets that she got the degree from that university.”
Talking to the reporters here on Tuesday afternoon, Ramesh said that the land was given to the Trust during an auction on the orders of the high court as being the highest bidder. “Why the BJP leaders have objection on the auction process when this Narendra Modi government is auctioning everything and even Mr Modi is being termed as an auction PM,” he charged. Attacking the Modi government further, Ramesh said it is not “action government” but “auction government” which has auctioned not just coal, minerals but also the Prime
Minister’s coat. “Even the Bihar package announced by the Prime Minister
was done in a manner which was similar to auction,” Ramesh said.
He also defended that 65 acre land in question do not belong to the farmer as it was a property of the UP government. Interestingly, a very senior official of the UPSIDC too claimed on Tuesday that the purchase of land by the Rajeev Gandhi trust is totally lawful particularly when the auction was made under the directions of the High Court. It may be mentioned that Irani during her visit to Amethi earlier this week had alleged that 65 acres of farmers’ land, which was taken for setting up Samrat Bycycle Industry, was taken by Rajiv Gandhi Trust on less rate.
Asked to comment on his colleague Digvijay Singh’s statement that Owaisi and his party (AIMIM) was being funded by BJP, Ramesh said BJP has the strategy of two faces in Bihar - the first one which is that of development and package under
which PM goes to that state posing as the messiah of development and the second on the ground level their strategy is that of communal polarisation. “...BJP will make all attempts to encourage polarization on the ground level as (Nitin) Gadkari has already said that Bihar elections will be referendum to Modi government...I have been to many places in Bihar and saw that on the outer they
are for development and package but on the ground they are for communal polarisation and they will take the help of whosoever supports them in this,” Ramesh said.
Meanwhile defending that political parties should be left out from the Right to Information(RTI), Ramesh said political parties are already under the perview of the Representative of Peoples Act hence no new law is required for them. He also said that some people are misusing the RTI Act for blackmailing and other illegal act for their own benefit. “Political parties along with private companies, media and NGOs too are exempted from the RTI,” he said.