Members of the controversial Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society here have claimed that infighting between two senior Congress leaders, Sushil Kumar Shinde and A.K. Antony, was the cause behind their travails.
At a press conference held on the building’s premises, the members — largely ex-Army and Naval officers — alleged that the false information provided by the former Army Chief V.K. Singh to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had also resulted in the case against Adarsh.
“The Letter of Allotment (LoA) to the society was signed by Mr. Shinde when he was Chief Minister. It was the political infighting within his party that resulted in Mr. Antony initiating action against Adarsh,” said R.C. Thakur, Secretary, Adarsh Co-op. HSG. Soc. Ltd.
In a statement here, the members alleged that in spite of subordinate formations, Defence Estate Officer, One man inquiry by Colonel ordered by Army headquarters and opinion of Additional-Solicitor General of India, informing Army headquarters that land does not belong to Defence, Gen. V.K. Singh brushed aside all the facts.
The society cited the reply dated December 3, 2014 to the application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) to strengthen their case, as Ministry of Defence/ Director General Defence Estates (DGDE), the custodians of land records for Armed forces had confirmed that that they had no information / documents related to the ownership of the land on which the building stands. Earlier, the Defence Estate Office, Mumbai too had provided the identical information on August 4, 2014.
“We all, especially the men in uniform, who have suffered the most unsolicited humiliation as ‘land grabbers’ stand totally vindicated before the nation after four years,” said Brig. T.K. Sinha, (Retd.), citing the RTI reply.
“Despite the judicial commission having given its report and its final and positive findings negating the claim of Army not only on land but on the Kargil reservation issue, both Gen. V.K. Singh and Mr. Antony persisted with false allegations,” said the statement.
The Adarsh society has been embroiled in a major controversy after it was alleged that the plot was under the ownership of the MoD and originally allotted for the housing scheme for the widows of Kargil martyrs.
The alleged scam till now has resulted in a number of lawsuits, around two-year long enquiry by the two member judicial panel of several bureaucrats, former defence personnel and politicians, including four former Chief Ministers of Maharahstra. Present Congress MP Ashok Chavan had to resign from the Chief Minister’s post after it was proven that his in-laws too had purchased flats in the society.
