Congress raises NOIDA allotment scam in midst of UP elections

New Delhi, Apr 29 (UNI) Congress today raked up controversial discretionary land allotments by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to kith and kin of influential members of judiciary, executive and senior politicians and alleged that they were intended to earn a 'soft corner' for securing his future.

Releasing a long list of controversial allotments some of them benami allotments, senior Congress leader and Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said he did not want to impute motives on the recipients but the intention of discretionary allotments was certainly to buy their good will. ''Whether Mr Yadav succeeded in his mission or not it was another question, but his motives of giving discretionary allotments were certainly not honourable,'' Mr Sibal told newspersons.

The timing of the release of the list comes a trifle too late when five of the seven phases of Assembly elections in UP have already been completed. The allotments were stayed by the Apex Court which had referred it to CBI for investigations.

The list of the beneficiaries of the allotments stayed by the Supreme Court in 2005 included the kins of several members of judiciary, IAS and provincial cadre officials, members serving the establishments of Chief Minister and even members of the fourth estate. There were also 13 'obvious benami allotments' made to individuals but having single adress and one single account. There were 12 allotments without any specific address but paid through the same bank suggesting benami transactions.

The long list of allotments made to the members of Judiciary included a son of a sitting Allahabad High Court Judge and daughter of former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal.

But BJP Parliamentary Party Spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said '' such allegations by the Congress and especially from a Central Minister have no meaning.'' ''They are in the government and are making such allegations when Uttar Pradesh was facing elections without taking action against the wrongdoings of Samajwadi Party all these days. It brings no credit to the Congress," he said.

Among the political personalities include kins of senior leaders basically MPs UP Legislators from Samajwadi Party but occasional members from Congress and BJP parties too. Among the 44 discretionary allotments made to IAS, IPS and PAS members includes the wife of Noida SSP who was suspended for mishandling the killing and raping of numerous children in Nithari village.

Mr Sibal said the allotments were ... picking up from para seven, line one of DI25 POLITICS-CONGRESS-MULAYAM ALLOTMENTS.

UNI