The Congress on Tuesday hit back at Punjab revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia for highlighting Rs 44-lakh stamp duty evasion by state party unit president Partap Singh Bajwa, saying that the minister had avoided his own party (Shiromani Akali Dal) treasurer NK Sharma's similar evasion of Rs 1.3 crore. The party also demanded a probe into Sharma's land deals, accusing him of evading stamp duty to the tune of more than Rs 100 crore.
"Majithia is very conveniently feigning ignorance about the Rs 1.3 crore indictment of Sharma by none other than his own revenue department, a report of which is lying with the Mohali deputy commissioner," Punjab Congress spokesman Sukhpal Khaira said in a statement here.
"Majithia is blinded by animosity and hatred against the Congress leadership, failing to see blatant and wilful massive evasion by his Akali colleagues, particularly NK Sharma," he said.
Khaira said the Rs 1.30-crore evasion by Sharma in the purchase of 11 acres at Zirakpur vide sale deed No 18310 dated March 28, was nothing but the tip of the iceberg of his scandalous transactions.
Khaira released copies of a sale deed (3969) dated August 14, 2008, of NK Sharma Enterprises Ltd, that sold 17 bighas (4.25 acres) at Zirakpur for Rs 25 crore at the rate of Rs 12,153 per sq yard to the Indian Railway Welfare Organisation (IRWO), merely 100 yards away from the said 11 acres purchased by Sharma on March 28, 2013, at Zirakpur for Rs 25 crore at the rate of Rs 4,695 per sq yd.
"Is it not a mockery of the law that NK Sharma sold a piece of land at Rs 12,153 per sq yd five years ago, then purchased 11 acres in the same village in 2013 for Rs 4,695 per sq yard at less than half the rate of what he sold in 2008?" he asked.
{{/usCountry}}"Is it not a mockery of the law that NK Sharma sold a piece of land at Rs 12,153 per sq yd five years ago, then purchased 11 acres in the same village in 2013 for Rs 4,695 per sq yard at less than half the rate of what he sold in 2008?" he asked.
{{/usCountry}}"Selectively targeting Bajwa for Rs 44-lakh evasion and that too on ex-parte proceedings against him only indicates Majithia's indulgence in political vendetta," Khaira said.