First Sadhvi, now Sangh gets land for a song

First Sadhvi, now Sangh gets land for a song
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

LUCKNOW, JULY 27: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta is turning out to be the Sangh's key ally. After he gave 45 acres of prime land on the Mathura-Vrindavan road for a song to Sadhvi Rithambara's Paramshakti Peeth, his Cabinet has decided on another largesse to the RSS.

This time, 5,000 square metres of precious land on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli, worth over Rs 1 crore, has been given, on a 30-year lease, at the token rate of Rs 1 per annum to Bhaurao Deoras Sewa Nyas (named after the RSS founder in UP), a wing of the RSS.

The land is adjacent to the prestigious Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences and is ostensibly meant for a rest house for patients' attendants.

Power Minister and Loktantrik Congress president Naresh Aggarwal said that he had opposed the move in the Cabinet but the Chief Minister used his discretionary powers. Minister of state for Excise and Jantantrik BSP leader Yashwant Singh also criticised the decision while the Congress and the Samajwadi Party said they would stridently oppose the trend of handing over precious government land to ``communal organisations under the garb of social welfare organisations.''

Just yesterday, Gupta repealed the UP Hindu Public Religious Places (Prevention of Misuse) Act,1962, because sadhus, mainly associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, were protesting and putting pressure on him through their acting chief Ashok Singhal.

``I never work under pressure from anyone and my decisions are precededby sincere thought,'' the CM had told The Indian Express in a recentinterview.

Ironically, the proposal to allot land to the Sangh's Nyas was moved by Gupta himself during the Cabinet meeting and was, sources said, opposed by all allies.

Incidentally, the Finance Department had said that the land could be leased out only by charging double the market rates. Gupta argued that the government could always amend its policies for a cause. For manyhere, the cause is becoming clear.