Belligerent Congress ups ante, says will target Dhumal, son

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 2

The BJP again found itself on the defensive today after the Congress charged former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Prem Kumar Dhumal with allotting prime Dharamsala land for a cricket stadium to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) at a paltry Rs 12 a year rental as against Rs 94 lakh, the actual rate. It said the rent calculated at the actual rate to date amounted to nearly Rs 100 crore.

Raising the matter rooted in a May 25, 2002, decision of the Dhumal government, the Congress today targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to act against Anurag Thakur, Dhumal’s son and the then HPCA president, who allegedly benefitted from his father’s moves.

“We want to ask the PM if his vow of no-corruption has a retrospective effect,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said. He acknowledged that evidence at hand was strong enough for the incumbent Congress government in Himachal under Virbhadhra Singh to act.

The BJP, however, dismissed the allegations as “old” and said Congress leaders who raked up the issue first, including former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh, had since retracted their statement.