Oppn leaders too cornered govt lands, says Rane

Hitting back at detractors for charging Congress ministers with “cornering government land at dirt cheap rate,” Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane on Monday said he had a list of Opposition leaders who have grabbed government land at “prices far below the rates prescribed by ready reckoner.”

The minister, known for his belligerence, refused to cower down in face of the Opposition's heavy flak on the issue of “delay in the tabling of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report.”

Rane alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators Eknath Khadse, Devendra Fadnavis, Pandurang Phundkar “are also on the list of the legislators who have grabbed government land at prices which can be called just token amount.”

“The government is ready for debate on the CAG report after it is tabled on the floor of the House,” Rane said. The report is expected to be tabled on April 16.The Opposition had alleged that the government was “deliberately delaying the tabling of CAG report as it indicts several serving and former ministers in grabbing land and manipulating regulations leading to pecuniary loss to the state exchequer.”

The Opposition leaders have claimed that they had managed to obtain certain sections of the leaked CAG report and thus called for its immediate tabling and a debate on its findings.