Patna: The Bihar assembly saw an uproar for the third consecutive day Thursday, with the opposition demanding Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s resignation and a CBI probe into the alleged scam involving land allotments to family members of ruling alliance leaders.
Soon after the house assembled for the day, slogan shouting opposition members trooped into the well of the house, demanding immediate cancellation of the allotments.
Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary adjourned the house till 12 noon.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who is leader of opposition in the assembly, reiterated they would not remain silent till a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe was ordered.
“If there was nothing wrong in the allotment of land to family members of the ruling alliance leaders, why is Nitish Kumar reluctant to hand over the probe to the CBI?” he asked.
Siddiqui said the government had allotted factory plots of the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) to the sons and daughters of Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and BJP leaders at throwaway prices. The beneficiaries included ministers and legislators, and they all got the plots in violation of rules, he said.
“The government land was virtually gifted to them at throwaway prices. It was an illegal act,” Siddiqui said.
According to the BIADA website, a government agency that allots land for industrial units, it has given 87,120 sq ft of land to the daughter of Human Resource Development Minister P.K. Shahi. It also gave 15,500 sq ft land to Janata Dal-United MP Jagdish Sharma’s son and 87,120 sq ft land to the daughter of Social Welfare Minister Perveen Amanullah who is the wife of senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Afzal Amanullah, it says.
A close relative of former BJP legislator Awdhesh Narayan Singh got 21,7800 sq ft while BJP legislator Ashok Agarwal’s son Saurabh Agarwal was given two huge plots, it says.
Under attack, Nitish Kumar Tuesday ordered a probe into the land allotment issue. “I have ordered a probe by the chief secretary and action will be taken against guilty if the allegations are found true,” said Nitish Kumar, who zealously guards his reputation as a clean politician. (IANS)