Twitter
Advertisement

BJP rushes to beleaguered Eknath Khadse's defence

Khadse is already embroiled in other controversies — like being accused of allegedly receiving calls from Pakistan-based fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, his "aide" Gajanan Patil allegedly demanding a bribe and his son-in-law Dr Pranjal Khewalkar's illegally modified limousine.

Latest News
article-main
Eknath Khadse
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Rushing to the defence of beleaguered revenue minister Eknath Khadse, the BJP denied charges that the prime plot at Bhosari near Pune which was purchased by his wife and son-in-law belonged to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).

Khadse is already embroiled in other controversies — like being accused of allegedly receiving calls from Pakistan-based fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, his "aide" Gajanan Patil allegedly demanding a bribe and his son-in-law Dr Pranjal Khewalkar's illegally modified limousine. There are reports that he may stand to lose heavyweight portfolios like revenue and state excise in the impending cabinet reshuffle.

"There is no legal truth to the claim that Khadse bought MIDC land. It is true that the MIDC had issued the notice for land acquisition in 1968. But, the acquisition process has not been completed till now," said BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.

He added that the land acquisition process had not been completed by the MIDC till 2010 and the original owner Abbas Rasulbhai Ukani had issued a notice for selling a plot of land in the newspapers, after which the MIDC swung into action and made some entries in the records, but did not complete the process.

Bhandari said that the land acquisition award was not completed and compensation was not issued, which meant that the land acquisition process had not been completed yet.

He questioned how the land, which did not belong to the MIDC, was sold by the corporation and where the money from the same was deposited and shown on records.

Bhandari said the statement by industries minister Subhash Desai that the land belonged to the MIDC was "surprising" and may have been based on off-hand information. He added that in October 2010, then MIDC chief executive officer Bhushan Gagrani had written to the district collector, Pune, in which he had admitted that the MIDC had not taken possession of the land and the award had not been finalised, which meant that the land acquisition was incomplete.

Bhandari dismissed allegations made against Khadse by social activist Anjali Damania as "baseless."

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement