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New Delhi: Stepping up the ante for the ouster of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the Congress party on Monday alleged that scam-tainted Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi and Raje “constructed a hotel on property and land owned by the Rajasthan Government”.
“Despite Dholpur City Palace being a governmental property, Raje and Modi proceeded to convert it into a high-end private luxury hotel since 2010,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh at a press conference here.
Flashing the official records of the state, the Congress leader said, “We sadly have to state that Raje’s husband Hemant Singh in 1980 made a written statement to the court, saying Dholpur Mahal belongs to the state.”
Ramesh also alleged that Raje, Modi and the chief minister’s son Dushyant Singh have occupied the palace in a forcible and illegal manner since 2010.
“This is a private-private partnership to manage a public property, without any revenue accruing to the Government of Rajasthan,” Ramesh said, adding, “The Narendra Modi government can’t run away from reality. It is clear that Raje and Modi were business partners.”
“From 1954 to 2010, we are making all documents public which corroborate what we are saying,” Ramesh said, revealing the documents.
Raje, in her election affidavit, had cleared that in Niyant Heritage Hotel Pvt Ltd (NHHPL), she along with Dushyant owned 3,280 shares each and her daughter-in-law Niharika owned 3,225 shares. The IPL founder also owned 815 shares in NHHPL.
“Raje and her family hold shares in Niyant Hotels. She stated in the 2013 poll affidavit that Modi holds shares too,” the Congress leader said.
“The facts conclusively establish not only the financial dealings, partnership, joint ownership of NHHPL between Raje and the fugitive Modi, but also prove conversion and misappropriation of a government property for running a hotel by NHHPL,” he added.
Ramesh also claimed that Dushyant’s company got funding from Modi-owned Ananda Heritage Hotels Pvt Ltd (AHHPL) in 2012 and 2013 totaling Rs.11.63 crore.
Dushyant has been under political attack, when media reports alleging that his company received Rs.11.63 crore in investments from Modi in 2008 surfaced.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, commenting on the issue, had earlier said that authorities in india would continue to do their job with regard to the probe into the over Rs.11 crore transaction between Dushyant and Modi.
Opposition parties have been continuously demanding the resignation of Raje and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj since they are embroiled in a controversy over extending help to the tainted former IPL commissioner in connection with his travel documents in the UK.
