EC seeks explanation from Jaya Bachchan on Barabanki property

Lucknow, Feb 8: Bollywood actor Jaya Bachchan's Rajya Sabha membership is yet again under scanner, with the Election Commission (EC) sending her notice, seeking explanation over charges of concealing facts about immovabale property filed in her affidavit.

According to Election Office sources here today, the EC sent a notice to Mrs Bachchan on February 5 and has asked to reply within a forthnight.

Mr Amir Haider, an advocate in Barabanki, had filed a petition with the EC on October 19, 2006 stating the SP MP had concealed facts about two properties on the name of her husband Amitabh, which were purchased just a fortnight before filing the affidavit for the RS bypoll.

This will be the second time Jaya would be in trouble after resigning from the upper House over office of profit controversy in March 2006.

The petition charged that while contesting the RS bypoll in June last year, she had submitted an incomplete affidavit, without declaring the two lands in the name of Amitabh at Barabanki.

Mr Haider, also a district Congress leader, told UNI here today ''Jaya has not disclosed two pieces of land, purchased in May, 2006, which tantamounts to concealing facts and is therefore, punishable under the law.'' The affidavit of Jaya filed on June 1, 2006 declares only one piece of land of 0.25 hectare in Amitabh's name.

However, it did not mention other two pieces of land measuring 1.3 and 1.5 hectares, which were purchased in the name of the MP's husband at Daulatpur village of Fatehpur tehsil, Barabanki.

The land mentioned in the affidavit also entered into a controversy with a petition in the High Court claiming it was a Gram Samaj land meant to be distributed among the poor and landless farmers.

Mr Haider said the EC had sent him a letter dated January 22, 2007 saying they were investigating the charges and the state electoral officer had been directed to probe into the matter.

''I am certain that EC will take cognizance of my charges and there is all possibility she have to quit the RS membership,'' he said.

Earlier, a petition was filed before the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad HC alleging a Gram Samaj land was alloted by the Barabanki district authorites. Satya Narayan Shukla, one of the petitioners who declared himself a farmer from the district, alleged the land allotment to the mega star by the state government was done by flouting laws and rules of allotment of land belonging to Gram Sabha.

The petition had challenged the order of the then Barabanki DM R S Sahu, passed on April 26, 2006, in which the name of Amitabh Bachchan was allegedly recorded as 'transferable bhumidhar'.

It further claimed the land status as 'barren land of Gram Samaj' was altered in the allotment. ''This kind of land can only be allotted to landless farmers of the same village,'' it argued.

The petition also alleged that Sahu's predecessor Ashis Goel had ordered on March 24, 2006 for rectification of land records as irregularities on mutation process of the land were detected at that time. But R S Sahu stayed the previous order for rectification and formalised the hand over of the land to Bachchans.

However, sources in the Land Revenue Department said the state government would cite a land allotment to Bachchan done way back in 1983.

They said there was an order passed on January 11, 1983 by the then consolidation officer allotting the land to the Big B.

UNI