In a major embarrassment for the BJP, one of its MLAs Ved Prakash Gupta and saffron leader and Mayor of Ayodhya Rishikesh Upadhyaya were on the list of people who had set up illegal colonies and indulged in illegal plotting in the temple town.
It was alleged that Gupta, a former MLA from Ayodhya, and Upadhyaya, an RSS functionary considered close to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), had illegally sold dozens of plots in and around Ayodhya, over many of which houses were constructed.
The list, released by the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA), also contains the names of a former BJP MLA and several others considered close to the saffron party.
Local BJP MP Lalloo Singh has written to CM Yogi Adityanath seeking a special investigation team (SIT) to thoroughly probe the matter.
The matter came to light when the ADA launched a drive to demolish illegally constructed houses inside the limits of the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation. Buyers of the lands furnished proof of ownership and payment of municipal taxes, according to sources.
Prices of lands in and around Ayodhya had risen manifold after it was declared a district and the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the construction of the Ram Temple in the town. Several bureaucrats, including IAS and IPS officers, their relatives and politicians bought large chunks of land in and around the town soon after SC verdict in anticipation that the land prices would shoot up once the temple construction started, sources said.
Opposition parties had protested these land purchases with Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi accusing the BJP of selling ''faith and trust'' of the people. Congress had also alleged large-scale irregularities in the purchase of lands by the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Khestra Trust, which was overseeing the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Published 07 August 2022, 12:15 IST