JD(U) puts BJP’s note ban narrative under question

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) today upped the ante against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s land purchases pre-demonetisation, by producing documents and videos alleging the following in fresh tweets through its official Twitter handle:

*That the BJP made land purchases in cash, belying its claim that the transactions were transparent and through cheques.

*That the registration deeds are for amounts far below the market rate and government rate, which JD(U) says is a sure sign of tax evasion.

*The JD(U) also alleged that this was a massive cross-country drive by the BJP to launder black money into white just before the note ban was announced.

With this, the JD(U) threatens to destroy BJP’s narrative of clamping down on black money and corruption through demonetisation.

To National Herald’s query on whether the Government of Bihar would investigate these purchases, reliable sources close to the state government indicated that the Revenue Secretary of Bihar has asked for all the documents to be brought to his notice and after perusal, the government would take a call.

On Thursday, in a scathing attack on the ruling party, the JD(U) had alleged that the BJP had gone on a land buying spree in Bihar in the weeks preceding the announcement of demonetisation, and had also paid in advance for construction of its offices. The JD(U) had released documents of land deeds showing a series of purchases made by office bearers of Bihar BJP in a short span in September; several of these deeds bore the address of the BJP’s national headquarters at 11 Ashoka Road, New Delhi. Given the timing of the purchases, the JD(U) demanded a probe to ascertain whether the BJP knew beforehand about the demonetisation move.

BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi retorted on Thursday that all payments were above board and made through RTGS, not cash.

Lal Babu Prasad, Vice Chairman of BJP Bihar, who figures as the buyer in some of the purchase deeds released by JD(U), reiterated today that all payments for the land were by RTGS, and that these land purchases were not for personal use but on behalf of the party.

JD(U)’s fresh allegations bely BJP claims

The JD(U) counter attacked on Friday, releasing documents on its official Twitter handle showing that cash was paid for a piece of land purchased in Kishanganj for the BJP.

The JD(U) also released a video of the seller from whom BJP bought two pieces of land in Kishanganj, in which he is saying that he was paid an amount of ₹70 lakhs—not the ₹15 and ₹lakhs shown on the registered deed.

The party added that the payment by cash and registered deed showing payment for land far below both the market rate and government rate for the land—which is ₹39.3 lakhs—was a sure sign of using black money for tax evasion. JD(U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad termed it a countrywide organised move by BJP to launder black money into white.

JD(U) MP Ali Anwar Ansari told National Herald, “I hope Government of Bihar will investigate. We are in agreement on the intent that black money should be brought out, but BJP needs to answer certain questions. People should not suffer.” Ansari added, “I have been taking a stand publicly that what the BJP is doing, is basically spreading a net to catch the tiny jhinga and pothia fish. What it is not doing is catching the big rohu and barari fish. And they have not spread a net at all to catch the gharial (crocodile), rather they are riding the gharial.”

JD(U)’s National Spokesperson KC Tyagi told National Herald that “Our ideological commitment is that we are against black money. But then we do believe that the BJP needs to answer certain questions. I expect the state government to act. That is also why we have asked the Central government to give each state government the power to investigate benami property and take action. Then we’ll find out, which person, which organisation has benami property.”

On JD(U) President Nitish Kumar’s repeated praise of Narendra Modi’s demonetisation decision, a senior JD(U) leader has this to say. “What Nitish Kumar has said is no different from that of other Opposition leaders, including even Ghulam Nabi Azad. We are for any move for fighting black money and corruption, but against the suffering faced by people. That is why JD(U) was part of the all-party dharna in Delhi. JD(U) is also supporting the Bharat Bandh on Monday, in support of the people who are facing distress due to lack of preparation."

When reminded of Nitish Kumar’s widely reported statement ‘The PM is riding a tiger and we should support him’, the JD(U) leader said there is another side to this phrase. “Sher ki sawari matlab sher patak kar aap ko kha bhi sakta hai (riding a tiger means that tiger could also throw you off and eat you up).”