After farmers and netizens, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday fired yet another salvo at the Modi Government and took up the cause of flat buyers of Delhi-NCR, claiming that the Government has diluted provisions of Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill 2013 and made the legislation pro-builders instead of pro-buyers.
Rahul, who has been taking on the Modi dispensation within and outside Parliament ever since his return from 59-day sabbatical, met several NCR flat buyers on Saturday and vowed to take up the cause of the middle classes who are “suppressed” on matters related to land. The Congress vice-president met nearly 200 representatives of House/Flat Owner Associations of Delhi-NCR Region at the AICC headquarters for almost two hours to discuss the issues they were facing while dealing with the builders.
Rahul alleged that the Modi Government had been trying to dilute key provisions of the Real Estate Bill 2013 brought by the UPA, which safeguarded the interests of the home buyers. The meeting comes in the backdrop of nearly 118 amendments being brought in by the NDA Government to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013 introduced in the Rajya Sabha. He assured the representatives of flat owners that he would raise his voice and Congress will fight for their rights both inside and outside Parliament.
This is the third major initiative by Rahul to target middle class and farmers’ after taking up the agenda of farm labourers to the Centre stage of politics through his Kisan Mazdoor Rally, and thereafter, undertaking padyatras to various grain markets in Punjab and Maharashtra recently. Rahul described the dilution of Real Estate Bill by Modi government as unjust and exploitative besides putting the entire life’s earnings of middle class at the mercy of a select builders’ lobby.
The party vice-president also compared this unilateral dilution of Real Estate Bill to similar changes in other legislations being brought in by BJP Government to harm the interest of farmers and tribals. Various representatives of flat owners spoke to Rahul in detail about the exploitative practices of builders leading to those in quest of a house of their own being denied possession of flats/houses for years together even after making full payment or being duped per se of location, quality of construction or actual area available for usage by the purchasers.
“The EMI-burdened middle class has more often than not, been at the receiving end with builders either not delivering as per the promised time schedule for years together or indulging in various malpractices like reduction of the area or quality of construction etc,” said Anand Prakash, an investor waiting to have a promised home in Noida Extension area since last two years. Representatives of house owners also told Rahul of long struggles against the builders’ lobby- with even local authorities and administration, more often than not, siding with the builders rather than an ordinary middle class family.
The flat owners also handed over various memoranda and charter of demands to the Congress vice-president. While AICC spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala was also present on the occasion and coordinated the meeting, former Union Minister Ajay Maken, who had piloted the Real Estate Bill during the Congress regime, explained negation of its important parameters.