A sub-court here on Tuesday issued notice to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a civil case filed by a private builder.
The Pradesh Congress Committee contracted the builder in 2013 to construct the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Development Studies (RGDIS) on a scenic spot overlooking the catchment of the Neyyar Dam in Thiruvananthapuram.
The plaintiff said the Congress was yet to pay the contract amount, an estimated Rs.2.8 crore, despite reminders to the party leaders. He said that at a “personal meeting” in May 2013, the then Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, and the then KPCC president, Ramesh Chennithala, had “persuaded” him to complete the work at the earliest since Ms. Gandhi had “agreed to inaugurate” the building on September 29, 2013. They “assured” him that his bills would be paid within one month of submission. The inauguration went as per schedule. However, the bills were never paid, and he ran from “pillar to post” and got “no mercy” from the Congress leadership.
He said he had borrowed substantially from nationalised banks and private lenders, at 13.5 per cent, to finish the work. As a “believer” in the Congress party, he had held on till now. Creditors were knocking at his door.
The KPCC bought the land in 2010 through a sale deed (798/10) executed by the Ottasekharamangalm registrar office. The builder spent Rs. 76 lakh to construct the dormitory block, Rs. 56 lakh for the interior and Rs. 30 lakh for electrification.
