A day after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rubbished allegations of a land scam perpetrated by his office, the Congress demanded that the government release the visitors’ log at Varsha, Mr. Fadnavis’s official residence.
The party alleged the records are likely to reveal the government’s link with builder Manish Bhatija, who visited the CM many times in the past few months. “The Chief Minister should release the CCTV footage and visitors’ log from his residence for three months. He should come clean on the purpose of this visit,” the Congress said on Tuesday.
The Congress has alleged that Mr. Fadnavis facilitated the sale of a 24-acre plot in Navi Mumbai for just ₹3.6 crore, while its actual value exceeded ₹1,700 crore. Mr. Fadnavis has said neither he nor his office had any role in the matter and that the land did not even belong to CIDCO as alleged.
The Congress on Tuesday stuck to its demand that the land allotment be cancelled and called for a judicial inquiry. “We had raised specific questions to be answered by the CM and the Urban Development Department. But instead, BJP members are spreading lies,” a party spokesperson said. It released a set of documents, including a GR dated March 20, 1971, in which the land was notified as a site belonging to CIDCO. “By virtue of this, every government land falling under the notified area of CIDCO, including the land in question, has been placed under the disposal of CIDCO.”