Gandhi family’s AJL ‘grabbed’ land meant for SC/ST community at throwaway price, ED attaches property

The Gandhi clan and its alleged involvement in corruption scandals is not a new phenomenon. However, whenever such routine incident props up, it makes one question, exactly how many skeletons are hiding in Congress’s dirty closet?

According to a Times Now report, it has now been revealed that a huge land piece in Mumbai was acquired by Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) meant for a Dalit hostel. The same Associated Journals Limited which runs Congress mouthpiece National Herald as well as Urdu Qaumi Awaz and Hindi Navjeevan. AJL is owned by Young Indian, a company controlled by the Gandhi family.

The Enforcement Directorate has attached the 3478 square meter plot in question located in Mumbai’s plush Bandra East locality, which was procured through the AJL in 1983 at a throwaway price.

While it was bought at a low price and a commercial property was later constructed on it, the land is now worth more than Rs 262 crore.

By law, it is mandated that whoever gets a land sanctioned by the government has to start construction within two years. However, in this case, from 1983 to 2000, there was no construction on the said land. 

According to documents accessed by Times Now, a 1967 detailed proposal reveals that the land was sanctioned for the construction of a hostel for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students by the then government.

The document also mentions that there was a construction limit of maximum 20,000 sq ft on the property but Congress erected a commercial structure four-times the mandated limit– occupying over 80,000 sq ft of land.

The revenue sharing of the land was severely twisted too. Usually, the government receives 50 percent revenue from the commercial establishments while the remaining revenue is retained by the owner of the property.

However, in this case, the mother-son duo of Gandhi clan kept 70 percent of the revenue from the property and shared only 30 percent with the government, thereby giving huge profit margins to the Gandhi family.

Gandhi family has been previously under the scanner for AJL for the National Herald case too. The National Herald case pertains to corruption charges against Congress’ top brass, especially Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Both are alleged to have minted millions from an ailing news agency called National Herald. National Herald had become defunct by the year 2008.

According to the court proceedings, as made public, the accused (Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Oscar Fernandez, Motilal Vohra and Sam Pitroda) are allegedly charged under the provisions of Indian Penal Code pertaining to misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The AJL, owned by Gandhi family was formed in November 1937 and is believed to be the brainchild of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Currently, senior Congress leader Motilal Vohra is the president of the AJL.

The organization was intended to be associated only with the dissemination of news, however, in recent times it has become a façade of Congress’s backdoor corruption scandals and an outlet to publish incendiary anti-India articles.