Gujarat Confidential: Contentious Plot

A plot in Vadodara, allotted by way of a public auction in 2020 to a company “backed” by an elected representative of the ruling party, became a matter of heated contention in the Standing Committee meeting of the VMC on Friday. According to a proposal presented before the Committee, the Land Estate (Commercial) department has proposed to hand over the land to the “buyer” after collecting an interest on the unpaid amount that has been due since May 2021. The proposal states that despite reminders, the “buyer” flouted the deadline and did not pay the sum that was due to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC). Sources said that while VMC Commissioner Dilip Rana proposed to levy an interest rate of 18% on the unpaid amount, members of the Standing Committee from the BJP contended that the interest charged should be 6%. Sources said that a heated argument ensued when Rana mentioned that a lower interest rate would amount to “misadministration” that could attract penalty in any future inquiry. The proposal was deferred by the Standing Committee with the view that it would be put forth at the coordination meeting with MLAs and MPs for recommendation to take further steps to avoid disagreements.

Making a Statement

Hours after the BJP recorded a landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, party leaders in Vadodara grabbed the opportunity to “send out a message” in Karjan, which is among the local government seats to go to polls on February 16. Here, the BJP candidates are up against 16 rebel leaders, who had switched over to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) last week after being denied tickets. To send out a “strong message”, Vadodara BJP District Unit President Satish Patel was joined by Vadodara city unit chief Vijay Shah as well as other party Taluka Presidents in bursting firecrackers and offering each other sweets at a prominent public junction in Karjan on Saturday. A senior BJP leader said, “It is a thumping win for the party in Delhi after 27 years and that too by uprooting the AAP government, which had been propagating a fallacy all these years. It is pertinent that it has come at a time when the party has suspended 26 rebel leaders in Karjan, 16 of whom have filed nominations as AAP candidates for the upcoming polls. The Delhi loss will weigh heavily on these defectors. The people of Karjan, anyway, have always placed their trust in the BJP.”