Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 13: BJP legislators have expressed serious concern over the Government decision asking the ex Ministers to vacate bungalows and termed it a partial action on the part of the authorities.
Talking to reporters here today party MLAs – Dr. Gagan Bhagat, Dina Nath Bhagat and R. S. Pathania – while terming the government’s decision to ask former Minister in BJP-PDP coalition to vacate forthwith their ministerial bungalows, as a step in right direction said the same should have no impartiality.
While accusing Estates Department of pick-and-choose, they have alleged ‘oblique motives’ behind the move as scores of ‘allottees’ are still occupying their official bungalows allotted to them as ministers/legislators since years and years after they cease to be such ministers/legislators in capacity whereof these accommodations were allotted to them. For instance, former Minister Harshdev Singh, was allotted a resplendent ministerial bungalow in Gandhi Nagar in 2002 in his capacity as Education Minister. Mr. Singh has ceased to be a minister 12 years back and even then he is enjoying the accommodation without any let, hindrance or eviction proceedings from the side of Estates Department. Same is the tell-tale of Ajay Sadhotra, Ch. Mohd Ramzan, Yogesh Sawhney, who cease to be ministers since years back but Estates Department has not even issued a simple notice to them. Similarly, Balwant Singh Mankotia, Prof Bhim Singh, Manjeet Singh and a score of other people are occupying their accommodations years and years after they have ceased to be legislators.
They said another side of the coin is that BJP MLAs, elected to office over an year – Rajiv Sharma, Krishan Lal Bhagat, Dina Nath Bhagat, Kuldeep Kumar, Jivan Lal – are still without official accommodation and unauthorized occupants still call the shots with the active connivance and support of Estates Department .
They have further accused the Estates Department of behaving and with two yardsticks – one for its blue-eyed favourities and other for BJP. The MLAs present in the press-conference have further expressed their resentment over the way eviction notice has been pasted on the wall of house of a senior former Minister of BJP and its photo deliberately made viral on internet and published in a leading national newspaper too. They have sought a detailed fact-finding inquiry into the episode as to why a selective witch-hunt has been carried out. And further that what is the stand of Government regarding unauthorized/ defaulting occupants.
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