JOIN USThere is more trouble for Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on the issue of the ownership of Dholpur Palace, the residence of the erstwhile royal family.
The Congress on Tuesday flashed copies of the Instrument of Accession, signed by the then Maharaja Udaybhan Singh, with the Union of India to buttress its claims that the ownership of the city palace rested with the government.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh released three more documents to show that the palace was a property of the state government that was “illegally occupied” by a joint venture company owned by Raje and her family and former IPL boss Lalit Modi.
Ramesh said according to the Instrument of Accession, the ownership of Dholpur palace was transferred to the government and the then Maharaja Udaybhan Singh was permitted to stay at the palace for his lifetime.
In Jaipur, Rajasthan BJP president Ashok Parnami furnished a court order dated November 22, 1958 to claim that Raje’s son Dushyant Singh was the owner of Dholpur Palace.
Ramesh alleged that there was a criminal nexus between Raje and Lalit Modi and the Congress would continue with its “disclosures” till the BJP seeks a “closure” of the issue by dismissing the Rajasthan chief minister.
Insisting that the compromise between Hemant Singh and Dushyant was only for movable property, Ramesh claimed that despite much evidence produced by him, the BJP is trying to justify ownership of the property with Dushyant with “lame duck” arguments.
He said that the compromise was brought about in 2007 by the additional district Judge of Bharatpur in a case titled ‘Dushyant vs. Hemant Singh'.
Ramesh rejected the BJP plea that Dushyant received compensation from the NHAI for a portion of land of the Dholpur Palace premises that was acquired for a highway project when the UPA government was in power.
The Congress leader released a complaint filed with the CBI by one Babu Lal against Raje and Dushyant in April 2013 for resorting to “illegal means” in getting the compensation from the NHAI.
Ramesh alleged that Dushyant received a compensation of nearly Rs 2 crore from the NHAI for a 600 metre piece of land due to “nexus” between him and the land acquisition officer.
However, Ramesh was unable to answer questions on why the then UPA government at the Centre or the then chief minister Ashok Gehlot failed to take action against Dushyant over wrongful claim of compensation.
“The complaint was filed in April 2013 and soon after everybody was busy with the elections,” he said.
Ramesh also said the Congress had not forgotten the case of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who had helped Lalit Modi with travel documents and would continue to demand her resignation.