Staking his claim over the building, Agarwal said that his grand father Ramswarup Agarwal had bought the building on April 24, 1961 in an auction of the then Rehabilitation Ministry for Rs 1.75 lakh.
After losing government and Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, the Congress in Uttar Pradesh is facing to lose its 40-year-old palatial party headquarters building after a Lucknow-based businessman staked his claim over the Rs 100 crore property.
Situated at posh Mall Avenue in the heart of Lucknow, Manish Agarwal, businessman has filed an application with the Lucknow Nagar Nigam for mutation of the building. The current market rate of sprawling building well over RS 100 crore.
Staking his claim over the building, Agarwal said that his grand father Ramswarup Agarwal had bought the building on April 24, 1961 in an auction of the then Rehabilitation Ministry for Rs 1.75 lakh.
Till 1976, the property was mutated in records in the name of Ramswarup Agrawal and Padmawati Agarwal. But after a decade in 1986, the property was mutated fraudulently in the name of senior Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai as a Caretaker of the property, charged the businessman.
The Businessman alleged that his grandfather had rented out a room for the party office on the request of then Chief Minister Chandra Bhanu Gupta in early 1960. But later, the Congress with an aim to usurp their ancestral property occupied the entire building and changed records of the Lucknow Nagar Nigam by using their political influence.
The UPCC has, however, rubbished the claim of the businessman saying that the party had bought the property in an auction in 1977.
"The property was auctioned in 1977 when Mohsina Kidwai was the state president of the party. Narain Dutt Tiwariji had arranged the money to buy it from the auction for the Congress. The mutation was duly done only after that.
If the property belonged to Agarwals why did they keep quite for so long?," quipped Virendra Madaan, UPCC Spokesperson.
The Lucknow Nagar Nigam has issued notice to the UPCC. "The Nigam has issued notice to UPCC and asked them to furnish papers relating to the property in question. If the party failed to do so, we will change records and mutate the property in the name of descendents of the original buyer," said Narendra Kumar, Tax Superintendent, Zone 1.
"An inquiry has been ordered to look into the fresh claim over the property. The Nigam will take any decision only after giving a chance to the UPCC to produce papers of the property," said Udairaj Singh, The Municipal Commissioner.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "DNA")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}