In a major embarrassment to the BJP taking a high moral ground against the UPA government on the issue of corruption and propriety, the Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the allotment of a huge chunk of land by party’s Madhya Pradesh government to a trust formed in the memory of the late leader Kushabhau Thakre.
One of the major violations in the allotment of the land measuring 20 acres in village Bawadiya Kalan in Bhopal district found by the top court was that the order for it was issued on September 25, 2004 while the trust was actually registered much later on October 6, 2004 and certificate of registration issued on December 24. The other major fallacy in the allotment recorded by the top court was that no other organisation similarly placed was called before the allotment as required under the principle of equality before the law.
“The allotment of 20 acres land to respondent No. 5 (the trust) is declared illegal and quashed,” the top court bench said.
of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly said.
Senior BJP leaders like L.K. Advani, former MP chief minister Kailash Joshi, Venkaiah Naid and Balwant P. Apte are the prominent members of the trust. The allotment was made on the orders of the then housing minister Babulal Gaur to whom a letter was handed over by Joshi personally on June 18, 2004. Disapproving giving such priority to any organisation having the association of powerful political figures, the top court said: “What needs to be emphasised is that the state and/or its agencies/ instrumentalities cannot give largesse to any person according to the sweet will and whims of the political entities and/or officers of the state.”