On Sunday, Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani had alleged that the Gandhi family had "grabbed" the land leased to Samrat Bicycles Limited, an allegation which the Congress has termed "wild and baseless".
The Amethi district administration on Wednesday put an end to the controversy over 65 acres of land sold by Samrat Bicycles Limited to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) in an auction. As per the latest orders, the land would once again vest with the UP State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) which had acquired it for industrial use in the early 80s. However, it seems, the attendant political controversy would continue to simmer for long.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi broke his silence on the issue on Wednesday, saying: "RGCT has been doing tremendous work in running women's SHGs (self help groups). It has transformed the lives of millions of women in UP. They (BJP leaders) should first see the kind of work RGCT has done before making such baseless allegations."
On Sunday, Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani had alleged that the Gandhi family had "grabbed" the land leased to Samrat Bicycles Limited, an allegation which the Congress has termed "wild and baseless".
Amethi sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Vandita Srivastava made it clear in her Wednesday order that the ownership of the land would once again vest with UPSIDC, Kanpur, which had leased the land to the bicycle company.
"The land ownership was transferred in the name of Samrat Bicycles due to a mistake some time in 1987-88. In November 2014, the UPSIDC filed a case in the SDM court to get back the land ownership," Amethi DM Jagatraj Tripathi told reporters on Wednesday.
Samrat Bicycles had sold the land that it had got on lease in an auction to the Trust in February this year for Rs 20.01 crore. Speaking here on Tuesday, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said the land was bought "under due legal process".
UP BJP president Laxmikant Bajpayee told reporters that the Congress's first family had been disgraced by the land controversy. "Instead of any development work, they have concentrated on grabbing land acquired from poor farmers," he said.
Samrat approached HC
Samrat Bicycles had taken loans running into crores of rupees but couldn't repay them. It approached the Delhi High Court for liquidation in 1993, which appointed a liquidator for the auction of the company's assets. RGCT outbid competitors at the auction and bought the land for Rs 20.01 crore.
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