AAP criticises Centre for giving land at throwaway price for Delhi BJP office

Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said the allocated land was not meant for building any political party office, but to build a school.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Central government for sanctioning over 2 acres of land at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg in Central Delhi at just ₹2 crore to Delhi BJP to build its office.

AAP leader and chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj. (Mohd Zakir/HT File Photo)

Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said the allocated land was not meant for building any political party office, but to build a school.

“In 2014, when the BJP government was formed in the Centre, they made many big promises such as giving jobs to more than one crore youths and giving farmers 1.5 times more price for their produce. But, the only group of people who benefitted from all schemes of the Central government has been the BJP,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) changed the land use of the said plot at DDU Marg from “nursery” to “public and semi-public”, allowing the Delhi unit of the BJP to legally apply for the land for its office. At present, the Delhi BJP office operates from a bungalow at Pandit Pant Marg.

DDA vice-chairperson Anurag Jain on Wednesday had said that the decision was taken in the authority meeting of DDA. “After listening to all the objections received and addressing all concerns, the land use has been changed from nursery to public and semi-public. It will now be sent to the Central government for notification,” said Jain.

The AAP criticised the Central government for changing the land-use of the plot under which now constructing a school, as previously planned, will not be possible.

“On behalf of the AAP, I want to ask the BJP how can they get 10,000 gaz (two acres) land in this posh area in just ₹2 crore? Is it not true that this land was sanctioned to build a school,” Bhardwaj said.

He further stated that when AAP went to the Central government asking for a plot to build its party headquarters, the Centre claimed it had no land available.

“In the last Delhi assembly election, the BJP got just eight seats out of 70 and the AAP received 62 out of 70 seats. For the party, which is ruling Delhi, the BJP-ruled Central government claims to have no land for them to build a party office. They asked us to pay crores of rupees as rent for this office which we have today and the BJP government had also tried to evict us from here repeatedly,” Bhardwaj said.

The Delhi BJP countered the claims by saying it has proper documents to show that it was allotted 809 square metres of land at DDU Marg for its office.

“It is a government policy is that all political parties should be allotted land in Delhi and accordingly, the Delhi BJP had applied for land for its office in 2001. The party then moved the Delhi high court for getting this piece of land. Thereafter, it was on May 12, 2010, that land was allotted to us. There is nothing illegal in this,” said Delhi BJP general secretary Kuljeet Singh Chahal.

He said the AAP was “wrongly describing” it as a 10,000 square yard plot, whereas in reality, it is of 809 square metres.

“The cost of the land was deposited in 2001 for the same at the prevailing rates at that time and the AAP is showing it as if the payment has been made in today’s time, which is a total lie. On the contrary, it is the AAP which has constructed its office on government land,” Chahal said.

Neither the AAP has the land allotted for its current office, nor has it deposited any amount in this regard, he said.