Gadkari owns flat in Adarsh society: Congress

NEW DELHI - The Congress Wednesday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari of owning a flat, through a proxy, in Mumbai’s scam-tainted Adarsh housing society.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari told reporters that the national executive member of BJP Ajay Sancheti, who has a flat in the society, was a proxy for Gadkari.

“We expect the BJP, which has been making a huge noise over the scams demanding a JPC (joint parliamentary commission) probe, to follow the same rules that they are fighting for,” he said.

“Sancheti, who is a member of the BJP’s national executive, has a flat in the same building (Adarsh) and the flat is a proxy for Gadkari. I am making this charge with all responsibility,” Tiwari said.

He said the Congress expected action against both after this revelation.

However, the BJP denied these allegations, stating that Gadkari did not own a flat in the society.

“BJP denies these charges made by the Congress spokeperson. If he does not prove the fact or apologise in the next 72 hours, the BJP will file a criminal and defamation suit against Tiwari,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

Gadkari Sunday denied media reports which alleged his involvement in recommending the allotment of a flat in the society to Sancheti.

“Neither I nor any of my relatives have flats in Adarsh society and I have not recommended anyone’s name for allotment of flat in the said society in Mumbai,” Gadkari said.

Claiming that his name was unnecessarily being dragged in the scam, he termed the charge “untrue and misleading”.

Gadkari’s reaction came after media reports said that Sancheti’s driver Sudhakar Madke, who owns a flat in the society, is a proxy for Sancheti.

“Madke, who earns Rs.8,500 monthly is a proxy for Sancheti for the flat, whose market value is currently Rs.5 crore,” said a media report.

“A member of the Sancheti family, Paramveer, who is the son of Abhay Sancheti (cousin of Ajay Sancheti’s father) applied for a flat in the Adarsh society in 2007 but his name was rejected by the then district collector I. Kundan, since the family’s source of income was higher than the stipulated limit. However, he later managed to get membership in the society,” the report further claimed.

The scam, which army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh said has shamed the force, relates to the controversial residential block being built in Mumbai’s upscale Colaba and in the neighbourhood of naval establishment. It was originally meant to be a six-storeyed apartment block for housing Kargil war heroes and widows.

However, it was surreptitiously converted into a plush 31-storeyed building. The society has over 100 members, including former service chiefs, senior serving army officials, bureaucrats, politicians and their kin.