New Delhi:
Activist turned politician Arvind Kejriwal has rejected clarifications and rebuttals from both realty giant DLF and the Haryana government on his allegation that the company got undue favours from the Congress government in the state because of what he calls its "nexus" with Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of the party's president Sonia Gandhi. "All three are trying to fool the nation," he said today.
(Read: Haryana govt-DLF nexus powered by Vadra, says Kejriwal)Rubbishing a
point-by-point rebuttal to his allegations sent out by DLF, Mr Kejriwal alleged that the balance sheet of Mr Vadra's company Skylight Realty was "dressed up" after a newspaper, while detailing his foray into the real estate business, reported on its balance sheet in March 2011. "They said that in 2011 that they have taken 11 crore from them (Mr Vadra) and sold the house. Those 11 crore rupees are not listed in the 2008 balance sheet (of Skylight Realty). They are in 2011 balance sheet. They are coming in 2011 balance sheet because in March 2011 Economic Times released that balance sheet so it is basically a dressing up of the balance sheet," Mr Kejriwal alleged today.
(Read: Haryana govt denies nexus with DLF)He was referring to the sale of an apartment by DLF to Mr Vadra in the posh Aralias project in Gurgaon in 2008. Mr Kejriwal and his associates allege that Mr Vadra paid not the Rs. 11.9 crores, including penalties and interest, that DLF says it got from Skylight Realty, but in fact only Rs. 89 lakhs. NDTV has access to the March 2011 balance sheet of Skylight Realty, which reflects a Rs 11.9 crore payment to DLF. The company has emphatically denied Mr Kejriwal's allegations that it gave Mr Vadra unsecured loans and massive discounts on property.
(Read: Robert Vadra mass-booked and traded DLF flats, bit all above board say DLF sources)Mr Kejriwal also questioned today the Haryana government's explanation on why DLF was allowed to use 30 acres of land meant for a hospital to build a Special Economic Zone or SEZ, saying, "Rather than building a hospital they allowed DLF to build an SEZ on this land, so what are they defending? I am quite surprised."
After Mr Kejriwal furnished
19 pages of documents yesterday to allege, among other things, that the sale of the 30 acres to DLF proved that the company was given big concessions by the state government, the Haryana government had said that this land in Gurgaon was owned by East India Hotels (EIH), which transferred it to DLF in 2005. The state government said the high court had quashed the land sale in February 2011 and the matter was pending in the Supreme Court.
Mr Kejriwal argued that the state government could have prevented the sale of the land to DLF and allowed a hospital to be built. "An honest government would have acquired it for hospital, cancelled the sale. Rather than doing this, it allowed DLF to build an SEZ," he said.
Yesterday, Mr Kejriwal had quoted the High Court's observations in the case to bolster his allegations. He pointed out that the court had quashed the sale and passed strictures against the Haryana government, terming its action "mala fide" and showing a "nexus".
The former Anna Hazare side, who launched an anti-graft political party last week, has asked for a "white paper" or financial statement from the Haryana government on its deals with DLF.
(Read: Arvind Kejriwal- From Gandhigiri to Netagiri)
(With IANS inputs)