Jammu, 27-07-2022: “While the BJP govt is using the vigilante organizations including ED and CBI to intimidate, harass and persecute the opposition, its own leaders involved in massive corruption and scams of gargantuan proportions had been allowed to go scot free and granted immunity from any kind of civil or criminal action. The complaints against the corrupt leaders owing allegiance to the ruling party are summarily rejected while booking the opposition leaders on frivolous charges in a bid to destroy and eliminate all kinds of opposition”, said Mr. Harsh Dev Singh, Former Minister and senior AAP leader while condemning the registration of false cases against Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain and BJP’s mischievous propaganda and false accusations against Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. He regretted that while those fighting the corrupt BJP regime were being penalized and persecuted, the corrupt elements and criminals affiliated with BJP were being sheltered and provided all support by the present regime thereby making a mockery of the rule of law, constitution and democratic jurisprudence. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Making a vociferous appeal to the Apex Court to constitute a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) against the corrupt MLAs and Ministers who have accumulated huge wealth and disproportionate assets in the last eight years, Mr. Harsh Dev lambasted the govt for having grossly failed to take action against the blemished politicians of BJP who had looted public exchequer, encroached State lands, Forest lands, Municipal and JDA lands besides having installed illegal brick-kilns, stone crushers, hot mix plants and raised mammoth movable and immovable properties in various parts of the State and outside by abusing their position and authority. He said that local media and even erstwhile Governor SP Malik had referred to several scams in the J&K State in insurance contracts, power projects, Forest and Health Departments besides large scale illegitimate back door appointments but the bigwigs continued to enjoy immunity in view of their political clout with no action whatsoever initiated against the corrupt politicians. He reminisced that the said Governor was on record having made repeated statements about some politicians having raised palatial bungalows with 40-50 rooms each at several places including Srinagar, Jammu, New Delhi and elsewhere through ill gotten wealth. The said Governor had claimed that even he was offered a bribe of Rs. 300 crores for clearing two files by corporates and agencies affiliated to BJP. Regretfully no action was imitated against such corrupt leaders or their political affiliates by confining the enquiry to a few inconvenient officers, lamented Mr. Singh. And interestingly, the BJP tried to cover up the Roshni scam and also filed a review petition in the High Court after its own MLAs were found involved in the nasty Roshni scandal. He accused the BJP govt of having deliberately abolished the Accountability Commission only to protect its corrupt leaders. He said that with Lok Pal also having been denied, the ED and CBI were being used by the BJP govt as its allies to browbeat and demolish the opposition.
Describing the BJP Govt’s tall slogans of providing transparent, accountable and corruption free governance to the people a hoax, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that all such rants were made to enchant the masses for political gains. He said that several ex-BJP Ministers and MLAs had been reported to have created huge assets, taken loan from J&K Bank amounting to several crores and got it declared NPA besides having defied norms and procedures and violated Defence Acts besides other violations in constructing un-authorized structures and palatial bungalows. He said that even during demonetization a BJP Minister’s vehicle was widely reported to have been apprehended while carrying huge ‘dirty cash’ for conversion into new currency notes. “Similarly another Minister’s spouse was reported to have been video-graphed while converting black money into gold. Another Minister was accused of having taken several crores as bribe from his colleague for granting permission for construction of private apartments in an environmentally fragile area of Jammu”, Harsh divulged.
Revealing further, Mr. Singh said that several BJP Ministers were accused of promoting transfer industry in the State, allotment of works without tenders and illegal appointments made in govt departments on monetary and extraneous considerations. Moreover, several Ministers and MLAs had encroached huge State lands and Forest lands whose adverse reports had been submitted even by the investigating agencies against them, Harsh disclosed. And while the BJP leaders continued to unauthorizedly occupy govt premises including Ministerial bungalows in violation of SOPs, the administration continued to shelter the delinquents providing the most glaring example of patronized corruption. Not only that, the corrupt leaders of BJP were being provided immunity and due protection in view of they being the members of the ruling party at the centre. He said some BJP MLAs rose from rags to riches within no time and had been accused of raising palatial bungalows after elections besides raising huge moveable and immoveable assets in Jammu city and its vicinity which were disproportionate to their known sources of income. He further disclosed that in replies of RTIs, huge State lands were found to be in illegal possession of said MLAs and their families who had further regularized huge state land under the nasty Roshni scheme besides having been involved in swindling subsidies from Agriculture and Horticulture departments which were supposed to be meant for the poor and the BPL families. Several unemployed youth had claimed to be duped and looted by the said MLAs in the name of employment besides extortions from employees in the name of transfers”, lamented Mr. Singh.
Accusing several Ex-Ministers and MLAs of running illegal pollution creating units including stone crushers, brick kilns, hot mix plants etc. in grass violation of the directions of High Court and Supreme Court and NGT, he regretted that authorities concerned had turned a blind eye to the same in view of the pressure of these powerful politicians running the unauthorized units. Further, holding the Ex-Ministers of the erstwhile PDP-BJP coalition and its Ex-MLAs squarely responsible for most of the irregular practices in the departments of R&B, PHE, PDD, H&ME and RDD in particular, Mr. Singh said that unscrupulous leaders often used their influence and exerted undue pressure on officers to confer undue benefits upon their favourites. He said that taking unfair advantage of their position and authority, several BJP MLAs resorted to coercion to get their unjustified and irregular demands fulfilled and works executed without observing codal provisions.
Urging a judicial probe into the involvement of Ex-MLAs and Ex-Ministers of saffron regime and its allied parties in corrupt deeds, large scale bunglings and other acts of omission and commission, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that until noose was tightened around corrupt politicians, good and clean governance would remain a distant dream. Mr. Amit Kapoor (President-Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha), Mr. Abhinav Anand and Mr. Partap Singh (Aam Aadmi Party leaders) were also present in the press conference.
