BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi today asked Congress to come clean on its "son-in-law model" of development first and defended Narendra Modi saying land was sold not to one, but to a couple of other business houses to set up an SEZ.
"Time and again, Congress leaders rake up the issue of land allocation to a business house and call it 'toffee model'. I am here to clarify that SEZ policy was implemented by the Centre and not the state," Lekhi while addressing a press conference said here. She claimed that the land, which was not suitable for farming due to high salinity, was sold to not one, but to a couple of other business houses to set up an SEZ, while referring to land given to the Adanis and others near Mundra in Kutch.
"That land was not given for free. It was sold for Rs 60,000 per acre. Now, the SEZ and port built on that land generates business and provides employment to many people. The port is now considered one of the best in India, from where 100 million tonnes of goods are being exported or imported every year, contributing to India's development," Lekhi said. Taking a dig at son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi Robert Vadra, she said, "But, daamad-shri (son-in-law) paid nothing and converted Rs one lakh into Rs 300 crore. No citizen were benefitted. I wish that every Indian possess such a model (to become rich instantly)".
She asked top Congress leaders to respond to charges made against Robert Vadra. She also took a dig at Kapil Sibal by referring to him as the "zero loss genius". Recently, Sibal accused Modi of carrying out several fake encounters.
"I want to give some data about encounters, which has been released by the National Human Rights Council (NHRC). As per NHRC data of 2009-10, Gujarat stands 17th in India with only 12 encounters. Uttar Pradesh tops with 138 encounters, while Manipur is second with 68 police encounters," Lekhi said. She alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gave a ticket to a criminal in Vadodara.
"I have the copy of a warrant issued by a judge in Alwar in Rajasthan, against AAP candidate Sunil Kulkarni. AAP needs to first check its own track record before making allegations about BJP giving tickets to criminals," she said. She also defended Modi after the Congress released a photograph which showed Modi standing with having hawala racket accused called Afroze Fatta.
"It is not easy to stop people from taking pictures when you are in public life. Anyone can come close and take a picture with you. We can't go around asking people to give their ID card before letting them taking pictures," she said.
Explaining BJP's stand on Farooq Abdullah's statement that if India becomes communal, Kashmir would not support India, Lekhi gave a stern reply.
"The word 'secular' was added in India's constitution during 1972, but it was not added into Jammu and Kashmir's constitution. Be it the Congress, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) or National Conference, all tried hard to see to it that it was never added. Thus, Abdullah does not have any right to speak about secularism," Lekhi said.
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