Annandale at the heart of Cong graft chargesheet

The chargesheet,party sources say,has documents relating to nearly a dozen land sales in the Annandale area,just next to the historic ground. Most of the land deals involves BJP leaders and their close family members,the chargesheet reportedly alleges.

The chargesheet committee also claims that a minister is behind some of the land purchases in the Annandale area. The document gives khasra numbers of the lands. The government was aware of these deals,it adds.

Apart from the Annandale issue,the Congress has also included controversial land deals including the allotment of prime government land to yoga guru Baba Ramdev in Solan district at an allegedly throwaway price and has accused the government of selling the state’s vital interests. The charge-sheet is titled as “Himachal on sale” to emphasise the party’s charge that the BJP allowed outsiders to buy large chunks on land in violation of section 118 of HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act. On the Congress’s infamous list on land mafia charges are cabinet ministers,kin of top BJP leaders and government servants including a few bureaucrats.

The AICC has decided to get the charge-sheet examined by legal experts fearing that some of the charges may create trouble for those who had signed the document. On his part,Bali asserts that the charge-sheet and supporting documents were enough to warrant a CBI probe against the government.