Prime Minister Narendra Modi has admitted to procuring land at subsidised rates after he became Gujarat chief minister in 2001, despite BJP counsel Meenakshi Lekhi telling the Supreme Court that no fresh land had been allotted after the year 2000.
Kaushal Shroff and Nileema MS writing for The Caravan reported that in Modi’s 2007 election affidavit, he was the sole owner of Plot 411, in Sector 1, Gandhinagar, in Gujarat. In Modi’s subsequent declarations in 2012 and 2014, as he inched closer to being the Prime Minister, mention of the plot go missing. Even in subsequent yearly filings on the PM’s official website the land finds no mention. Instead a new mention of a quarter of “Plot 401/A,” in the same sector is found.
Modi has noted in his latest filings that he purchased the plot “401/A” for Rs 1.3 lakh, invested Rs 2.47 lakh in construction on the land. The current value of the land is Rs 1.1 crore.
The Caravan reported that no public records for any plot “401/A” exists. Records either are not available for such a plot or queries went unanswered despite the Caravan contacting the department weeks prior.
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Curiously “Plot 401/A” also reportedly crops up on papers filed by the finance minister Arun Jaitley. In public filings in recent years, Jaitley states that he is a “1/4th” owner of “Plot 401/A.” Jaitley claims the mamlatdar in Gandhinagar allotted him the land. As per public records Jaitley is the current and sole owner of Plot 401.
In an apparent response to The Caravan’s earlier story about discrepancies in the PM’s land ownership, BJP put out an “informal note” that stated, “Four plots purchased by four different persons were amalgamated into one on 25.4.2008. Obviously, the number of the amalgamated plot is different from the separate individual numbers.”
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Modi, in his non-political interview with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, went on to say that the MLA is granted a plot at a subsidised rate from the government. Hence he was allotted land in 2002 after being elected an MLA.
He said, “I told the party … I’d like to give it to you, because I don’t want it.”
However, he said that the land could not be handed over as a case is pending before the Apex Court because government land records state that the land is meant for “residential/charitable” purposes.
“There was some issue with the land being prohibited from giving away … I don’t know for sure as I don’t take too much of an interest in such subjects. However, once the issue is settled I have decided to give away the plot to the party,” the prime minister said.
Government land allotment in Gujarat had reportedly come under the scrutiny of the courts in 2001. In August 2017, the Supreme Court took over the matter, noting that the high court had failed to come to a decision.
However, SC records state that BJP leader and lawyer Meenakshi Lekhi said that the state of Gujarat “has not made any afresh allotments after the year 2000” and that the entire procedure for allotments was being reexamined.
Going by the PM’s public admission, Lekhi then lied to the Court about land allotments after 2000.