Cong alleges Rs 13,000 cr scam in J&K Jal Jeevan Mission, says officer 'harassed'

Congress on Monday hit out at the BJP-led Centre, alleging a Rs 13,000 crore scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission in J&K, and victimisation of the IAS officer who exposed the scam even as the accused are being shielded.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi, Congress working committee (CWC) member Pawan Khera said "every day the government does event management".

Khera, who is also the chairman of the media and publicity department of the party, said, “This is done to divert attention from real issues. And while the government was holding the G20 summit in Delhi, a complaint from Jammu and Kashmir has come against lieutenant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha alleging Rs 13,000 crore scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission.

“The whistle blower of the scam, Ashok Kumar Parmar, is an IAS officer who happens to be a Dalit, and has written to the SC/ST Commission and also the ministry of home, but no action has been taken."

Hitting out at the government, the Congress leader said, “It seems that the top echelons of the Modi government, the Union minister of jal shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and lieutenant governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha, have promoted the corrupt officers, named in the scam by Parmar, and punished the whistleblower by demoting him from principal secretary, jal shakti department, to ARI and trainings department, though with 30 years of service, his position should have been of financial commissioner.”

He added that Parmar was transferred four times, while the officers named in the scam are being protected.

He also cited the example of another scam by Satyapal Malik, former governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. “We also know, through media reports, that the dubious captured thug, Sanjay Rai Sherpuria who was part of the BJP-RSS ecosystem, had lent Rs 25 lakh to Sinha (present LG) for his 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” Khera said. “So it comes as no surprise that there is a scam in Jal Jeevan Mission also under the nose of the J&K LG,” Khera added. 

Accusing the government, Khera asked, “Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government answer, why was a Dalit IAS officer harassed and targeted, even though he exposed a massive scam of Rs 13,000 crore? Why were other officers who embezzled funds, scammed the exchequer, and looted our people, promoted? Were they following orders from a higher power above? Who is the mastermind of this humongous scam of Rs 13,000 crore?”

He also asked why no CBI enquiry has been ordered despite complaints to the Union home ministry, and who the "government was protecting".