Grounded: Release of Gurgaon land to Rajiv Trust rocks Haryana Assembly

Waving copies of The Indian Express that on Wednesday published a story on the CAG report,which has raised serious concerns over the way Haryana government flouted norms and set procedure while releasing five acres piece of prime land to the Trust at Ulhawas village in Gurgaon.

The row over releasing land to Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust in Gurgaon rocked the Haryana Assembly on Wednesday with the entire opposition INLD,SAD,BJP and HJC members staging walkout demanding judicial probe into the matter.

Waving copies of The Indian Express that on Wednesday published a story on the CAG report,which has raised serious concerns over the way Haryana government flouted norms and set procedure while releasing five acres piece of prime land to the Trust at Ulhawas village in Gurgaon. The CAG,sources said,has also accused the government of acting in a hasty manner in providing land to the Trust.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda,who was not present in the House when the issue was raised,rushed back to Chandigarh to justify release of land. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala,who took command to confront an irate opposition in absence of Hooda,claimed the Opposition was only aiming at grabbing headlines.

INLD MLA Ram Pal Majra was the first to raise the issue,followed by BJPs Anil Vij,who demanded a probe by a sitting high court judge. INLD MLA Abhay Chautala,on the other hand,asked for a judicial probe not only in to the release of land to the Trust but in all the change of land use certificates granted by the Hooda government.

The people of the state have lost their faith in the present government and they should seek fresh mandate to know where they stand, said Chautala. People are waiting to send this government packing. In democracy,the ultimate punishment to any party comes from its people during the elections. This government is set to collapse as and when they go to polls, said Vij. Majra,meanwhile,demanded a short term discussion on the issue.

While Vij was taking a copy of the newspaper to Speaker Kuldeep Sharma,the Speaker told him: You better walkout. Following this,INLD MLAs raised slogans of Bharashtachar band karo.

Later,Hooda told mediapersons that the matter has already been disposed of by the high court. This is nothing more than sensationalism. Statements by the Opposition were nothing but an attempt to hide their own misdeeds in the Devi Lal Trust. The village gave the land to the Trust on a no-profit no-loss mechanism on certain conditions. He added that he apprehended that the Devi Lal Trust had usurped many a lands in the state.

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Rest of he queries can be asked to CAG and not us. We do not comment on CAG,it goes to the public accounts committee. If any clarifications are asked,we will tell CAG, he said. Hooda admitted that the CAG report reached the government on March 4 and will be placed before the House soon. He,however,did not specify any date.

On the Oppositions demand for his resignation,Hooda said: Rather,the Opposition should resign and go to polls. Every third day,they demand my resignation thrice a day. I challenge them to see if even half of them get re-elected.

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