16. Congress urges Punjab government to withdraw SLP against probe of illegal properties of VIPs

IP Singh, TNN Aug 27, 2012, 05.15PM IST

JALANDHAR: Trying to put SAD-BJP government in Punjab over the issue of filing Special leave Petition in Supreme Court against constitution of Justice Kuldip Singh Tribunal by Punjab and Haryana high court to probe illegal properties of CM, DGP and other Congress has urged Punjab government to withdraw the SLP.

"It is intriguing and astonishing to note that the Punjab government which is supposed to be custodian of public land is making all sorts of efforts to safeguard the interests of the encroachers," said former MLA Sukhpal Khaira while addressing a press conference here on Monday.

"If those running the state government have their hands clean then where is the need to scuttle the probe by Commission," he questioned. "It is a shameless act by the state government to file the SLP in apex court to protect encroachers and violators including the CM, DGP etc," he said, adding that luckily the SC had not yet given any stay on the petition filed by state government.

Khaira claimed that in order to get relief for its political masters and esteemed officers, the Punjab government has filed a misleading and false affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the high Court order has made the state's revenue and civil courts defunct."Now, the state government should tell the people of Punjab that how revenue department and civil courts have become defunct if Tribunal would probe the high and mighty who usurped government lands," Khaira questioned.

"CM, Ministers and senior officers of the SAD-BJP government have become a bunch of realtors and land mafia and are usurping, encroaching and taking over government lands with the help of state machinery," he alleged.

"Acquisition of hundreds of acres land for upgradation of Mohali International Airport also needs to be probed by the CBI as those in power were aware that which areas were to be acquired and had purchased lands at cheaper rates beforehand which was later acquired at Rs. 1.50 crore per acre," he said. Making another serious allegation he said,

"Akali Ministers, MLA's are misusing the so called master plans of all major cities in Punjab to buy land at cheap rates because they have information of the proposed connectivity of roads and other development schemes".