Shanti Bhushan dares Cong to probe Himachal land deals

IAC activist Shanti Bhushan has told the Congress to go ahead and initiate a probe into a land purchase he had made in Himachal Pradesh, saying that he did nothing wrong. “I have never done anything illegal and the government is free to probe this if it wants”, said Bhushan to reporters in Delhi. Bhushan’s reaction came as the Congress in Himachal Pradesh demanded an inquiry into the alleged purchase of tea plantation land by a trust linked to Prashant Bhushan in the Palampur area. Bhushan’s Kumud Bhushan Educational Society was allowed to buy 4.68 hectares of land for the construction of an educational institution on 2 February 2010. [caption id=“attachment_487170” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Bhushan said he had done nothing illegal: PTI[/caption] “We want an independent inquiry into the land transferred to Prashant Bhushan in 2010 and want the government to explain how this land was transferred to him,” senior party leader and former minister Harsh Mahajan said. Mahajan asked Bhushan to clarify his motive behind buying the land in the state and asked the state government under what circumstances it allowed the deal to be made. “The way Bhushan’s family was given land in Palampur - 4.68 acres of land breaking all the rules. Congress MLA Sudhir Sharma brought this issue up. Yet another Congress MLA Mukesh Adhotri brought it up but their questions have not been answered yet and they don’t seem to be bothered. This land was worth 7-8 crores but was given to him for a few lakhs,” senior Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said, demanding a probe into the matter. The Congress’ assertion came a day after the Mr Kejriwal’s India Against Corruption asked how Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Vadra was allowed to buy property near Shimla, and which government had granted her with permission to do so.