CHANDIGARH, June 5: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh today questioned the moral authority of Baba Ramdev in holding fast against corruption and black money when his own credentials were not above board. He disclosed that Baba Ramdev was himself the unauthorised beneficiary of the largesse of the Himachal Pradesh government just because he supported the Bhartiya Janata Party.
Capt Amarinder Sing revealed that the BJP government in HP had given 127 bhigas of land to Baba Ramdev in village Sadhupul on Kandaghat-Chail Road, on lease for a period of 99 years on a token rent of Re 1 while actual cost of the land is several crore rupees. The market price of the land there is about Rs 20 lakhs per bhiga.Capt Amarinder said, there was a house Anand Bhawan on the land which originally belonged to his family. He said, in 1950s his father late Maharaja Yadvinder Singh handed over it to the Punjab government, as at that time HP was part of Punjab, as a gift to the children of the country and named it as Indira Gandhi Holiday Home for Children, where the children could spend some time during summers.
He disclosed, now the HP government has handed over the entire land to Baba Ramdev thus denying thousands and thousands of children the right to use it. The PCC President asked Baba Ramdev as with what right had he accepted that land virtually free of cost. “Is this not corruption as you are supporting the BJP and in return its government gave you the prime land worth crores of rupees?” asked Capt Amarinder.
The former Punjab Chief Minister criticised the BJP government in HP for squandering away the precious heritage to seek favours from Baba Ramdev. He said, it was the duty of the HP government to preserve the heritage it had inherited from Punjab.