Note ban: JD-U demands SC-monitored probe on BJP's land purchase ahead of demonetisation move

Alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed its black money by purchasing land worth crores of rupees ahead of the note ban, Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Friday demanded a probe into the land deals. JD-U on Friday also tweeted the documents as a ‘proof’ showing the purchase of property worth crores by the BJP leaders.

However, rejecting the charges of opposition parties as “absurd and preposterous”, BJP said on Friday that the exercise was part of its chief Amit Shah’s decision last year to have a party office in every organisational district. The party termed the activity as “normal” and said that it had been collecting funds for the same for long. “It is absurd to allege that the party has started buying properties in view of demonetisation,” party spokesman and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a statement. Prasad said that in the Maha Sampark Abhiyan held in Bangalore on 5 July, 2015, party President Amit Shah had emphasised on the need of setting up party offices across the country as “our membership has already crossed 10 crore mark”. [caption id=“attachment_3125550” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Document tweeted by JD-U’s official handle @JanatadalU[/caption] “We have taken up work of building party offices. Without a good party office there can be no expansion of party work within a district. Therefore, we have decided that by December 2016, in every organisational district across the country we will construct a new party office. [caption id=“attachment_3125554” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Second document tweeted by JD-U’s official handle @JanatadalU[/caption] “As part of its expansion programme, the party president had also made a request to collect funds for this purpose and establish the party offices. He had also urged party workers to contribute generously. The party and its karyakartas have been working relentlessly for the last 16 months to achieve this,” said Prasad. The Minister said that it was “preposterous” to suggest that a “normal activity undertaken by the party as part of its regular and decided agenda” to expand at the grassroot levels had anything to do with the demonetisation scheme which came into effect on 9 November. A local Hindi news channel in Bihar on Thursday telecast a report that the BJP purchased land in 25 districts of Bihar ahead of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes announced on 8 November. According to reports, the BJP purchased land in more than two dozen districts, including Saharsa, Patna, Madhubani, Katihar, Madhepura, Lakhisarai, Kishanganj and Arwal. The size of the plots acquired ranged from 250 sq feet to about half an acre. Their values range between Rs 8 lakh to Rs 1.16 crore. The costliest plot of land was bought at Rs 1,100 per sq feet. With inputs from agencies