BJP demands Ajay Maken's resignation over DDA scam

Calcutta News.Net
Monday 5th January, 2009

Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the All India Confederation of Scheduled Castes and Tribes Organisation Monday demanded the resignation of Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken over allegations of fraud in the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) housing allotment.

All India Confederation of Scheduled Castes and Tribes Organisation chief Udit Raj said, 'Maken should resign till a probe into the allegations is completed - the CBI should carry out a thorough investigations.'

The draw of lots for 5,238 flats for over 566,000 applicants was held Dec 16. The one, two and three-bedroom flats cost between Rs.700,000 and Rs.7.7 million.

After media reports based on the account of Udit Raj, who alleged the whole affair was rigged, the housing authority's draw came under the scanner.

The reports suggested that several applicants from Rajasthan whose names appeared as successful applicants had denied having applied. Other discrepancies like different people having submitted the same phone numbers were also reported.

'I had notified the police in October. I had even written to the joint police commissioner and the DDA housing commissioner about the possible scam - why was no action taken then?' asked Udit Raj, who is president of the Indian Justice Party, in interaction with reporters here.

MCD standing committee chairman Vijender Gupta said: 'After this housing scam has come out in the open, Urban Development Minister Ajay Maken should resign on moral grounds and there should be no less than a CBI enquiry.' He said he has written to the prime minister raising the demand.

Udit Raj claimed that he got hint of the scam from an insider in the 'property-dealing cartel'.

'When this man, a property dealer himself, handed us dummy forms used to collect information from people (under whose names the applications were made), we sent letters to the address asking if they had applied for the draw,' Raj explained.

Some of the 106 people replied, he said. 'A majority of the people belonged to the Meena clan (reserved category) in Jhunjhunu and Kotputli villages (Rajasthan). They replied that none of them had applied,' Raj added.

He alleged that when he attempted to notify authorities about the brewing scam (in SC/ST forms) and used the Right to Information Act to get further information, there was no cooperation.

'This is a deep rooted team work,' he said, adding that many officials were in cahoots with property dealers in the scam.

Raj said: 'We will hold a protest Jan 8. We want everything to be scrutinized in the public domain. The draw should be stopped and the CBI should probe the matter.'

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