City Centre scam is PM's test on corruption issue: SAD

Chandigarh, Sep 26 (UNI) A day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today produced certain documents pertaining to the alleged gross violations in the multicrore Ludhiana City Centre scam and demanded that Dr Singh order a CBI probe into the deal.

SAD general secretary Sukhbir Singh Badal produced the photo copies of certain documents at a press conference here, which showed that Today Homes company had an authorised capital of a mere Rs one lakh a day before it had been awarded the Rs 3,000 crore Ludhiana City Centre project.

Mr Badal said this scam would be ''a test for Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh'' as he himself had stated once in Parliament that the country could progress only if corruption was eradicated.

''Since the prime minister is coming to Ludhiana tomorrow, we demand from him to order the CBI probe and dismiss the Punjab chief minister for the biggest scam in the country,'' Mr Badal said.

He said SAD will hold a protest dharna in Ludhiana tomorrow on the occasion of the PM's visit to the city.

The documents which were produced at the press conference also showed that Today Homes company had accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 28.38 lakh in March 2004, besides having a turnover of a meagre Rs one lakh during that fiscal.

''We want to know as to why even internationally reputed construction giants like the DLF, the Bestech and the MGF, several of them with a net worth of over Rs one lakh crore, were summarily bypassed in the allotment of the Ludhiana project,'' The Akali Rajya Sabha member said.

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